GIFT   OF 
Prof.   F.   L.    Paxson 


GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

COMMODORE,  U.S.N. 


GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

COMMODORE,  U.S.N. 

His  Life  and  Letters 

BY 

CARROLL  STORRS  ALDEN,  PH.D. 

INSTRUCTOR  IN  ENGLISH,  U.S.  NAVAL  ACADEMY 

WITH    PORTRAITS    AND    OTHER 
ILLUSTRATIONS 


TOUT  BON  fi^wJr  oo  fUEN 


BOSTON  AND  NEW  YORK 
HOUGHTON  MlFFLIN  COMPANY 


1914 


COPYRIGHT,   1914,  BY  CARROLL  STORRS  ALDEN 


ALL   RIGHTS   RESERVED 


Published  March  1914 


TO 

MRS.  LARZ  ANDERSON 

DAUGHTER    OF    THE    GALLANT   OFFICER 
WHO    IS    THE    SUBJECT   OF  THIS    WORK 


M194424 


PREFACE 

BECAUSE  a  young  naval  officer  was  con 
stantly  thinking  of  home  and  because  his 
family  treasured  his  frequent  letters,  this  book 
has  been  possible.  The  letters  were  informal 
and  unstudied;  being  subject  to  constant  inter 
ruption  and  other  unfavorable  conditions,  they 
frequently  did  not  possess  literary  distinction; 
but  they  were  ever  full  of  hearty  feeling,  and 
of  keen  interest  in  routine  duty  as  well  as  the 
stirring  events  of  war  and  conflict.  By  reason 
of  their  spontaneous,  straightforward  character 
they  have  a  value  as  history. 

Miss  Susan  Perkins,  who  all  her  life  had  been 
collecting  the  letters,  edited  them  in  1886,  with  a 
biographical  sketch  of  her  brother  by  Admiral 
G.  E.  Belknap.  The  work  was  well  done,  and  it 
shows  throughout  a  sister's  love  and  admiration. 
Still  I  have  felt  that  there  was  a  place  for  further 
work.  Miss  Perkins's  book  was  published  pri 
vately  and  reached  the  family  friends  rather 
than  the  general  public;  as  it  was  written  thir- 


viii  PREFACE 

teen  years  before  the  Commodore's  death,  it  did 
not  deal  with  the  last  phase  of  his  life  and  could 
not  treat  with  fulness  many  matters  of  a  per 
sonal  nature.  In  my  writing  I  have  constantly 
had  Miss  Perkins's  book  before  me.  At  the  same 
time  I  have  gone  over  the  originals  of  most  of  the 
letters  she  quoted,  and  have  included  some 
others  which  had  become  accessible  later;  also  I 
have  availed  myself  of  the  rich  historical  and 
biographical  material  of  a  general  character  that 
has  appeared  since  her  book  was  written,  throw 
ing  light  on  the  events  in  which  Commodore 
Perkins  had  a  part. 

Miss  Perkins's  noble  life  is  ended,  and  to  her 
I  cannot  speak  my  gratitude.  To  Mrs.  Perkins, 
widow  of  the  Commodore,  to  Mrs.  Anderson,  his 
daughter,  and  to  a  score  of  others,  his  relatives 
and  friends,  I  hope  the  following  pages  will  be 
the  best  expression  of  my  deep  appreciation  of 
their  assistance  and  encouragement  in  the  vari 
ous  stages  of  this  work. 

ANNAPOLIS,  MARYLAND, 
February,  1914. 


CONTENTS 

I.  Family  and  Boyhood  i 

II.  At  the  Naval  Academy  .          .          .16 

III.  In  Central  and  South  American  Waters     37 

IV.  On  the  West  African  Coast  .          .     71 
V.  The  Capture  of  New  Orleans        .          .107 

VI.    In  the  West  Gulf  Blockading  Squadron   134 
VII.    The  Battle  of  Mobile  Bay     .          .          .172 

VIII.    Later  Service 206 

IX.    The  Sailor-Farmer        .          .          .          .256 

X.    The  Measure  of  the  Man      .          .          .  289 

Index 297 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

George  Hamilton  Perkins   (Photogravure)  Frontispiece 

From  a  daguerreotype  taken  in  1859  when  he  <was 
twenty-three,  and  a  master. 

Birthplace  of  Commodore  Perkins,  Contoocook 
(Hopkinton),  New  Hampshire      ...        2 
From  a  photograph. 

Clara  Bartlett  (George)  Perkins,  mother  of  Com 
modore  Perkins  .          .          .          .          .10 
From  a  miniature  by  E.  P.  Foley. 

United  States  Gunboat  Cayuga         .          .          .108 
From  a  lithograph  published  in  1861. 

Captain  Bailey  and  Lieutenant  Perkins  facing  the 
Mob  at  New  Orleans  .          .          .          .122 

From  Frank  Leslie's  Illustrated  Newspaper,  Mayjf, 
1862. 

United  States  Monitor  Chickasaw    .          .          .174 

From  a  'war-time  photograph,  reproduced  in  A  His 
tory  of  the  American  People,  by  Woodro<w  Wilson. 
By  permission  of  Harper  and  Brothers. 


xii  ILLUSTRATIONS 

Captain  G.  H.  Perkins  .....   254 
From  a  photography  1884. 

Commodore  G.  H.  Perkins      ....   264 

From  the  painting  by  Vinton. 

U.S.S.  Perkins.    Launched,  1910     .          .          .   290 
From  a  photographt 


GEORGE   HAMILTON    PERKINS 


GEORGE   HAMILTON    PERKINS 

COMMODORE  U.S.N. 


I 


CHAPTER  I 

FAMILY  AND    BOYHOOD 

F  the  laws  of  inheritance  have  a  force  in  the 
shaping  of  character,  and  a  man's  fortune  is 
thus  in  the  making  long  before  his  birth,  George 
Hamilton  Perkins  was  favored  in  his  antecedents. 
He  was  in  direct  line  from  the  Reverend  Wil 
liam  Perkins,  who,  sprung  of  an  old  Warwickshire 
family,  was  born  in  London  and  came  to  Boston 
in  1632.  William  Perkins,  according  to  the  early 
records,  was  a  "man  of  parts,"  and  had  unusual 
versatility.  He  gave  fifty  pounds  to  the  Massa 
chusetts  Bay  Company  and  received  in  return 
four  hundred  acres  of  land.  He  was  elected  repre 
sentative  to  the  General  Court  of  Massachusetts. 
Besides  attacking  the  strongholds  of  evil  from  the 
pulpit,  he  commanded  a  military  company  and 
was  a  member  of  the  Ancient  and  Honorable 
Artillery  Company  in  Boston.  Still  better,  he  had 
a  large  family.  His  spiritual  enthusiasm  for  the 


2          GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

latter  is  not  without  a  touch  of  humor  for  us, 
when  he  writes  on  the  marriage  of  Katharine,  his 
second  daughter:  "She  was  the  first  which  the 
merciful  Providence  of  God  gave  me  opportunity 
to  be  disposed  of  in  marriage."  He  died  in  1682  at 
the  age  of  seventy-five. 

Timothy,  great-grandson  of  William  Perkins, 
married  Hannah  Trowbridge,  and  through  her 
George  Perkins  was  descended  from  Thomas 
Trowbridge,  of  Devonshire,  who  came  to  America 
in  1636.  Also  through  her  he  was  descended  from 
Increase  and  Maria  Cotton  Mather. 

The  first  generations  of  Perkins  in  America  lived 
in  Roxbury,  Gloucester,  Topsfield,  and  neighbor 
ing  towns  in  eastern  Massachusetts.  But  as  the 
country  became  more  thickly  populated,  there  was 
the  reaching-out  for  more  land.  Roger  Eliot  Per 
kins  (1769-1825),  grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this 
biography,  moved  from  Middleton,  Massachu 
setts,  to  Hopkinton,  New  Hampshire.  Building 
there  some  lumber  mills  on  the  Contoocook  River, 
he  established  a  profitable  business.  Prompted  by 
the  English  gentleman's  pleasure  in  an  estate,  he 
obtained  large  tracts  of  land  reaching  out  from  the 
present  village  of  Contoocook.  Here,  a  few  hun 
dred  yards  from  the  river  and  mill,  he  built  the 


FAMILY  AND  BOYHOOD  3 

large  and  stately  mansion  that  still  stands  on  the 
edge  of  the  village.  In  this  house  Commodore 
Perkins  was  born,  and  when  a  small  boy  he  could 
look  out  and  see  in  all  directions  only  the  paternal 
acres.  This  pleasure  in  land  and  farm  country 
does  not  seem  to  have  been  so  strong  in  Hamilton 
Eliot  Perkins,  father  of  the  Commodore,  but  was 
to  reappear  in  the  Commodore  with  undiminished 
vigor. 

Hamilton  Perkins  received  his  education  at 
Exeter,  Norwich  Military  Academy,  and  Harvard 
Law  School.  For  many  years  he  gave  his  attention 
to  lumbering  at  Contoocook  where  he  owned  one 
or  more  mills.  For  sixteen  years  in  the  latter  part 
of  his  life  he  presided  over  the  probate  court  of 
Merrimac  County  and  was  known  the  country 
about  as  Judge  Perkins.  Senator  W.  E.  Chandler 
says  of  him:  "He  was  not  only  genial,  full  of 
kindly  humor,  but  he  was  brave  and  plucky  —  a 
positive  man  from  whom  George  must  have  inher 
ited  much  of  his  natural  courage." 

Clara  Bartlett  George,  wife  of  Judge  Perkins 
and  mother  of  the  Commodore,  was  also  of  good 
old  English  stock;  her  ancestor  had  come  to 
America  in  the  seventeenth  century,  settled  in 
Haverhill,  Massachusetts,  and  after  the  middle 


4          GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

of  the  eighteenth  century  had  moved  to  Hopkin- 
ton.  Her  paternal  grandmother  was  the  daughter 
of  Captain  Harriman,  —  a  skipper  of  Salem, — 
while  her  grandfather  was  Captain  Benjamin 
Emery,  "Gentleman,"  who  commanded  a  com 
pany  at  the  battle  of  White  Plains  in  the  Revolu 
tion.  Mrs.  Perkins's  brother  was  Captain  Paul 
R.  George,  long  an  intimate  friend  of  General 
Benjamin  Butler.  General  Butler,  knowing  of 
the  remarkably  efficient  service  of  Captain  George 
as  quartermaster  of  volunteers  in  the  Mexican 
War,  immediately,  on  being  given  command  of 
the  forces  at  New  Orleans  in  1862,  requested  that 
Captain  George  be  appointed  quartermaster  on 
his  staff;  but  because  of  political  opposition  in 
Congress  the  nomination  was  not  confirmed. 

Mrs.  Perkins  had  among  her  early  devoted 
admirers  the  talented  young  lawyer,  Franklin 
Pierce,  later  President  of  the  United  States. 
Throughout  his  life  Pierce  continued  a  friend  of 
the  family,  and  when  the  youngest  son,  John  H. 
George,  on  the  death  of  his  father,  left  Dart 
mouth  a  year  before  graduation,  Pierce  took  him 
into  his  office;  the  youth  thus  favored  later  be 
came  one  of  the  most  brilliant  lawyers  in  New 
Hampshire. 


FAMILY  AND  BOYHOOD  5 

Hamilton  and  Clara  Perkins  had  two  daughters 
and  six  sons.  The  second  child  and  the  eldest  son 
was  George  Hamilton  Perkins.  He  was  born  in 
Hopkinton,  New  Hampshire,  October  20,  1836. 
Here  in  the  house  already  mentioned  as  built  by 
his  grandfather  he  spent  his  early  years. 

George  Perkins  was  ever  fond  of  this,  the  south 
central  part  of  New  Hampshire,  and  to  a  large 
extent  it  was  the  mould  that  shaped  the  man. 
It  is  agricultural  country  and  the  land  is  still 
extensively  cultivated,  being  adapted  especially 
to  dairy  farming.  Though  lacking  the  austere 
grandeur  of  the  mountainous  parts  of  the  State, 
Hopkinton  and  the  adjoining  towns  of  Warner 
and  Webster  are  not  less  varied  and  lovely. 
Mount  Kearsarge,  Sunapee  Mountain,  Monad- 
nock,  Moosilauke,  and  on  exceptionally  clear 
days  the  White  Mountains  are  to  be  seen  from  the 
hills  —  the  nearest  of  the  mountains  being  twelve 
miles  distant.  The  hills,  which  in  many  less 
rugged  States  would  be  honored  by  the  names  of 
mountains,  are  so  placed  as  to  show  their  height 
to  advantage  and  they  afford  picturesque  views 
of  the  Contoocook  River  and  smaller  streams. 
Contrasted  with  the  rough  hills  and  the  heavy 
woods  are  the  rich  intervales,  where  unsurpassed 


6          GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

meadows  and  some  good  grain-fields  are  to  be 
seen. 

George  Perkins  was  an  active  youngster  on  the 
farm.  He  was  interested  in  whatever  was  being 
done,  and  made  friends  and  companions  of  all  the 
workers.  He  had  a  great  liking  for  animals  and 
pets  of  all  kinds,  as  had  the  others  of  his  family; 
indeed,  this  fondness  for  animals  was  so  marked 
that  it  may  be  regarded  as  a  family  trait  and 
seems  to  have  come  from  the  Georges.  For  horses 
he  had  a  veritable  passion,  and  this  lasted  all 
through  his  life. 

One  of  his  earliest  recorded  adventures  was 
with  a  horse,  and  the  incident,  which  his  sister 
relates,  is  important  because  the  child  shows  the 
same  characteristics  that  later  were  to  make  him 
the  superior  officer.  When  scarcely  as  old  as  the 
boy  of  to-day  who  wakes  to  consciousness  of  mas 
culine  dignity  because  of  his  first  knee  breeches, 
he  went  to  the  pasture  to  catch  one  of  his  father's 
colts.  It  was  a  spirited  animal,  full  grown,  and  its 
head  was  so  high  that  the  boy  was  not  tall  enough 
to  reach  it.  The  colt  eluded  George  for  some  time, 
and  then  taking  to  the  river  crossed  over  to  the 
other  side.  As  the  field  bordered  on  the  Contoo- 
cook  above  the  dam,  the  stream  was  of  some 


FAMILY  AND  BOYHOOD  7 

depth  and  breadth.  The  small  boy,  however,  did 
not  hesitate,  but,  throwing  off  his  scanty  attire, 
he  plunged  in  and  swam  to  the  opposite  bank. 
There  he  cornered  the  horse  against  a  fence,  and 
by  climbing  the  rails  succeeded  in  fastening  the 
bridle,  which  he  had  placed  about  his  own  neck 
on  crossing  the  river.  Then,  swimming  the  animal 
back,  he  put  on  his  clothes  and  rode  in  triumph  to 
the  stable.  Just  as  later  in  the  battles  below  New 
Orleans  and  in  Mobile  Bay,  he  was  without  fear. 
Difficulty  and  danger  were  for  him  like  a  game  and 
brought  out  his  quickness  in  action  and  his  ready 
resource. 

The  father  constantly  encouraged  him  in  self- 
reliance.  When  he  was  six  and  it  was  imperative 
to  send  some  one  through  the  deep  snow  to  Con 
cord,  ten  miles  distant,  George  was  tied  in  the 
sleigh,  and  though  all  alone,  made  the  trip  without 
mishap.  Early  he  had  a  pony  of  his  own,  and  with 
his  father  he  would  take  long  rides  over  the  rough 
hills  and  through  the  heavy  woods.  At  times  they 
would  spend  the  night  in  a  small  and  very  old 
house  in  Webster  on  a  farm  belonging  to  the 
judge,  and  would  fish  in  the  beautiful  little  lake 
which  the  farm  overlooked,  or  hunt  in  the  vicin 
ity.  The  farmhouse,  known  as  the  "Box,"  in 


8          GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

later  years  was  to  receive  many  additions,  and 
eventually  became  the  summer  home  of  the 
Commodore. 

When  George  was  eight  years  old,  his  father 
moved  to  Boston  where  he  engaged  in  the  West 
African  trade.  The  boy  saw  the  extensive  ship 
ping,  and  doubtless  had  his  imagination  fired  by 
many  a  sailor's  yarn  as  he  roamed  over  the  ves 
sels  his  father  was  fitting  out.  Yet  there  is  nothing 
to  indicate  that  the  child  or  his  parents  recognized 
that  the  sea  was  to  be  his  profession.  Indeed, 
when  two  or  three  years  later  his  father  tired  of 
business  cares  and  city  life,  it  was  a  glad  boy  that 
returned  with  the  family  to  the  large  and  com 
fortable  old  home  in  Hopkinton. 

George's  education  was  early  found  to  be  a 
serious  problem.  He  did  not  take  to  books. 
Augustus  T.  Perkins,  who  comes  of  an  entirely 
different  branch,  in  writing  of  his  own  family, 
notes  what  is  fully  applicable  to  the  family  of  the 
judge:  "Of  well-educated  and  accomplished  men 
and  women  we  have  a  plenty,  but  almost  no 
scholarship  in  the  strict  sense  of  the  word";  and 
he  mentions  as  their  particular  characteristics, 
"The  love  of  adventure,  of  field  sports  and  of 
athletics  .  .  .  together  with  an  extraordinary  vigor 


FAMILY  AND  BOYHOOD  9 

of  body,  noticeable  in  the  women  as  well  as  the 
men."  Thus  it  was  that  George,  who  loved  action 
and  all  outdoor  life,  had  no  enthusiasm  for  books 
and  study. 

Because  of  this  indifference  he  made  little  pro 
gress,  and  the  teachers  commonly  agreed  that  he 
was  dull.  Had  it  not  been  for  the  faith  and  perse 
verance  of  his  mother,  his  distaste  would  have 
crippled  him  for  life,  and  there  would  have  been 
no  public  career.  She  took  his  education  upon 
herself,  in  spite  of  the  many  cares  of  a  large 
family  and  an  extended  circle  of  friends.  Many  a 
spirited  contest  followed,  for  George  would  not 
study  and  the  mother  would  not  let  him  shirk. 
Frequent  were  the  petitions  for  leniency.  He  was 
not  feeling  well,  he  wanted  to  go  with  father  to 
Tilton  to  buy  a  horse,  or  he  must  see  a  litter  of 
pigs  just  arrived  on  a  neighboring  farm.  Might  he 
not  accompany  Sister  Hattie,  who  had  shopping 
to  do  in  Concord?  If  he  would  work  all  day  to 
morrow,  might  he  not  go  fishing  this  morning  with 
some  of  the  older  boys  ?  —  There  were  times  when 
undoubtedly  he  was  not  feeling  entirely  well.  He 
was  not  robust,  and  was  quite  alert  enough  to  see 
how  this  fact  might  be  used  to  advantage.  For 
tunately,  Mrs.  Perkins  had  herself  a  liking  for 


io        GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

play  and  a  lively  appreciation  of  the  importance 
of  the  many  interests  connected  with  the  farm. 
Recreation  was  not  forgotten  because  of  study, 
and  most  of  the  privileges  desired  were  granted 
if  preceded  by  faithful  application.  Progress  was 
slow,  but  in  the  end  the  mother  triumphed  and 
George  gained  some  schooling. 

There  is  still  preserved  a  journal  which  Mrs. 
Perkins  induced  George  to  write  during  his 
eleventh  year.  It  shows  how  many  and  active 
were  the  interests  of  the  busy,  helpful  boy;  it  also 
expresses  a  pathetic  lament  that  his  mother 
should  hold  him  so  strictly  to  his  books.  It  was 
hard  for  him  to  understand  how  she  could  be  so 
blind  to  the  better  things  of  life.  The  following 
are  some  extracts  (the  form  has  been  somewhat 
modernized  by  Miss  Perkins,  sister  of  the  Com 
modore)  :  — 

Thursday.  —  It  has  rained  all  day  and  taken  off 
some  of  the  snow.  I  did  my  lessons  and  took  care  of 
Black  Hawk  and  the  other  horses,  because  the  man 
had  to  go  away.  In  the  afternoon  I  sold  a  horse,  and 
then  I  carried  a  man  in  the  sleigh  to  Mr.  Gould's  on 
business. 

Friday.  —  This  afternoon  I  took  Black  Hawk  and 
Mr.  Stanley,  and  Roger  took  Uncle  Paul's  horse  and 
David,  and  we  went  to  the  lower  village  to  an  exhibi 
tion.  We  had  a  very  pleasant  time  till  we  got  'most 


CLARA   BARTLETT   (GEORGE)    PERKINS 
Mother  of  Commodore  Perkins 


FAMILY  AND  BOYHOOD  n 

home,  when  the  thills  dropped  down  on  Black  Hawk's 
heels  and  he  tipped  Mr.  Stanley  and  me  out  of  the 
sleigh,  and  got  away  from  us  and  ran  almost  home.  I 
took  the  other  sleigh  and  went  after  him  and  led  him 
home,  and  the  only  harm  done  was  he  corked  himself  a 
little.  Thus  closed  the  labors  of  the  day!  I  lent  four 
chains  to  E.  Burbank,  two  binding  and  two  ox  chains, 
and  one  axe;  and  to  William  Leslie,  two  horse  chains, 
one  ox  chain,  and  a  goad  stick. 

Monday.  —  I  did  not  expect  to  study  any  to-day,  as 
Frankie  is  sick,  but  mother  saw  me  go  by  the  window 
and  called  me  in,  and  of  all  the  scoldings  that  she  has 
ever  given  me  I  got  one  to-day  the  worst.  To-day  I 
have  set  some  hens,  and  I  expect  to  have  a  great  flock 
of  chickens,  ducks,  turkeys,  and  geese  this  year,  for  I 
have  set  a  good  many. 

Interesting  as  showing  the  practical  methods 
used  to  promote  scholarship  is  this  entry:  — 

My  mother  solemnly  agrees  to  give  George  H. 
Perkins  one  loaf  of  cake,  if  the  said  George  H.  Perkins 
goes  through  his  geography  in  ten  days. 

MOTHER  PERKINS. 

George's  further  education  was  at  the  Hopkin- 
ton  and  the  Gilmanton  academies,  the  latter  one 
of  the  three  oldest  in  the  State.  He  did  nothing  to 
distinguish  himself  at  either  institution,  and  the 
reports  of  scholarship  were  not  flattering.  The 
teachers  for  the  most  part  did  not  understand  the 
boy,  and  the  routine  of  study  failed  to  arouse  his 
interest. 


12        GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

George's  struggles  suggest  those  of  the  British 
naval  officer  and  author,  Captain  Marryat.  The 
two  in  early  and  later  life  exhibit  many  charac 
teristics  in  common.  Marryat  as  a  boy  made 
but  slow  progress  under  his  schoolmasters,  and 
the  unusual  and  desperate  methods  he  resorted 
to  in  the  acquisition  of  knowledge  are  worthy 
of  a  Yankee.  It  is  related  that  in  one  of  these 
earnest  endeavors  to  lay  hold  on  truth,  he  was 
discovered  in  an  erect  but  inverted  position, 
feet  high  in  air.  When  called  sternly  to  account 
for  not  studying  his  lesson,  he  explained,  "Well! 
I've  been  trying  for  three  hours  to  learn  it  on 
my  feet,  but  I  could  n't,  so  I  thought  I  would  try 
whether  it  would  be  easier  to  learn  it  on  my 
head." 

While  George  was  studying  at  Gilmanton, 
being  fourteen  years  old,  there  came  an  unex 
pected  offer  of  an  appointment  to  the  United 
States  Naval  Academy  at  Annapolis.  Although 
every  boy  is  at  heart  a  soldier  or  sailor,  there  is  no 
record  that  George  had  seriously  thought  of  a 
naval  career  before  this.  However,  the  history  of 
New  Hampshire  had  been  such  as  would  enkindle 
patriotism.  The  Granite  State,  though  possessing 
less  than  twenty  miles  of  seacoast,  early  made 


FAMILY  AND  BOYHOOD  13 

much  of  her  one  harbor,  Portsmouth.  Here  in  the 
Revolution,  the  Ranger  had  been  built,  and  the 
crew,  led  on  to  victory  by  Paul  Jones,  were  many 
of  them  from  the  Piscataqua  region.  Here  in  the 
War  of  1812,  the  Enterprise  was  fitted  out  as  she 
sailed  forth  to  capture  the  Boxer;  and  also  the 
second  PFasp,  which  under  the  gallant  Blakely 
harried  British  commerce  so  fearlessly  in  the  Eng 
lish  Channel,  was  built  and  provided  with  a  crew. 
And  here  in  the  Civil  War  the  Kearsarge  was  to 
be  built,  named  after  the  mountain  twelve  miles 
from  Hopkinton. 

It  was  the  Hon.  Charles  H.  Peaslee  who  offered 
the  appointment  to  the  Naval  Academy.  He  was 
Congressman  from  the  Concord  District,  and 
having  a  vacancy  to  fill  he  sought  out  Judge  and 
Mrs.  Perkins,  —  he  had  been  long  a  warm  friend 
of  the  family,  —  making  the  suggestion  that 
George  should  go  to  Annapolis.  There  followed 
some  anxious  deliberation  and  weighing  of  advan 
tages.  The  parents  recognized  the  value  of  the 
thorough  and  practical  education  that  the  Acad 
emy  was  already  making  a  name  for.  They  saw 
that  for  one  of  George's  active  temperament  a 
naval  career  was  in  many  ways  admirably  suited. 
Yet  they  hesitated  before  taking  a  step  that 


14        GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

would  remove  their  son,  still  a  mere  boy,  from 
their  sight  and  influence. 

When  it  was  decided  that  George  should  accept 
the  appointment,  he  was  withdrawn  from  Gilman- 
ton  and  placed  under  a  private  tutor  at  Concord 
to  prepare  for  the  entrance  examination  at  the 
Academy.  This,  like  the  examination  for  West 
Point,  was  far  less  exacting  than  at  the  present 
time.1  It  had  been  recognized  that  the  test  must 
be  of  such  a  character  that  candidates  from  States 
where  the  schools  were  not  of  the  best  might  hope 
to  pass.  Otherwise  the  charge  would  be  made 
that  the  institution  was  a  rich  man's  school,  for 
which  only  those  who  had  enjoyed  unusual  privi 
leges  could  qualify.  As  we  turn  to  the  "Regula- 
tionsof  the  U.S.Naval  Academy,  1853,"  we  read, — 

Candidates  must  be  over  fourteen  and  under  sixteen 
years  of  age  at  the  time  of  examination  for  admis 
sion;  must  be  of  good  moral  character,  able  to  read 
and  write  well  —  writing  from  dictation,  and  spelling 
with  correctness  —  and  to  perform  with  accuracy  the 
various  operations  of  the  primary  rules  of  arithmetic, 
viz.:  numeration,  and  the  addition,  subtraction,  mul 
tiplication,  and  division  of  whole  numbers. 

An  eccentric  schoolmaster  in  Concord  under 
whom  George  studied  before  he  went  to  Gilman- 
1  Mahan,  From  Sail  to  Steam,  p.  71. 


FAMILY  AND  BOYHOOD  15 

ton  seems  to  have  been  the  only  teacher  besides 
his  mother  who  had  the  gift  or  the  patience  to  dis 
cern  promise  of  unusual  power  in  the  boy.  How 
ever,  he  passed  the  mental  examination  for  ad 
mission  to  the  Academy  without  difficulty,  and 
after  undergoing  the  physical  test  with  like  suc 
cess  was  enrolled  as  an  acting  midshipman.  He 
entered  upon  the  first  stage  of  his  naval  career  at 
the  beginning  of  the  academic  year,  October  I, 
1851. 


CHAPTER   II 

AT  THE   NAVAL  ACADEMY 

PERKINS'S  life  at  the  Naval  Academy  cannot 
be  regarded  as  extraordinary.  As  in  earlier 
years,  he  showed  indifference  or  aversion  to 
study,  and  more  than  once  he  but  narrowly 
escaped  "bilging."  l  He  was  extremely  popular 
with  his  fellows,  but  because  he  was  not  aggres 
sive  he  never  constituted  himself  their  leader. 
To-day  a  man  with  his  qualities  would  gain  dis 
tinction  in  athletics,  dramatics,  and  like  branches 
of  student  activities  which  have  an  element  of 
seriousness  in  their  character.  In  the  absence  of 
such  interests  in  the  fifties,  he  doggedly  pursued 
his  course  and  was  graduated  the  lowest  stand 
man  in  his  class.  He  was  probably  the  last  man 
also  that  his  companions  would  have  picked  as  the 
one  to  win  distinction  six  years  later  for  excep 
tional  efficiency  and  bravery. 

The  United  States  Naval  Academy  was  at  the 

1  Bilging:  the  expressive  term  by  which,  in  the  fifties  as  now, 
midshipmen  refer  to  the  untimely  end  of  those  seriously  deficient 
in  scholarship,  when  their  fate  is  that  of  a  ship  bilged;  that  is,  run 
on  the  beach,  lying  on  her  bilges,  her  bottom  broken,  a  wreck. 


AT  THE  NAVAL  ACADEMY  17 

time  of  Perkins's  admission  entering  upon  the 
seventh  year  of  its  work.  Previous  to  the  found 
ing  of  the  sister  institution  at  West  Point,  in 
1802,  the  idea  of  a  naval  school  constituting  one  of 
the  four  departments  of  a  military  academy  had 
been  suggested.  This  probably  originated  in  the 
fertile  brain  of  Alexander  Hamilton,  but  it  came 
to  nothing.  From  the  beginnings  of  our  navy 
until  1845  (the  year  the  Academy  was  founded 
at  Annapolis),  midshipmen  acquired  their  slight 
book  education  commonly  from  chaplains  and 
schoolmasters  on  shipboard. 

Naturally  the  first  years  of  the  institution,  for 
which  there  was  no  model,  were  somewhat  experi 
mental,  and  the  work  was  limited  in  its  scope. 
The  school  was  merely  a  station  where  midship 
men,  during  a  few  months'  respite  from  sea  serv 
ice,  might  with  assistance  study  for  the  examina 
tion  confronting  them  as  they  sought  promotion 
to  the  grade  of  passed  midshipman  or  of  lieu 
tenant.  The  Academy  quickly  demonstrated  its 
value,  and  in  1851  it  was  decided  hereafter  to 
limit  the  sea  duty  of  acting  midshipmen  to  sum 
mer  practice  cruises  and  to  the  period  following 
their  training  at  Annapolis.  Immediately  on  ap 
pointment  they  were  to  enter  upon  a  course  of 


1 8        GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

study  at  the  Academy  that  should  cover  four 
consecutive  years  —  the  plan  still  followed. 

The  change  that  has  come  over  the  spirit  of  our 
colleges  in  the  past  half-century  does  not  have  its 
parallel  in  the  Naval  Academy.  As  has  been  fre 
quently  observed,  studies  in  the  former  do  not,  as 
of  old,  form  the  central  and  absorbing  interest; 
and  reading  and  recreation,  while  in  some  phases 
more  healthy  and  sane,  are  for  the  most  part  less 
aspiring  and  idealistic.  In  Annapolis,  on  the  con 
trary,  the  life  has  become  more  serious.  As  the 
United  States  Navy  has  risen  in  self-esteem,  and 
the  midshipmen  are  three  or  four  years  older  on 
admission,  they  seem  to  feel  more  fully  the  dig 
nity  of  the  service.  It  is  certain  that  discipline  is 
superior  to  what  it  was  fifty  or  sixty  years  ago; 
courses  of  study  have  been  broadened  and  a 
greater  degree  of  application  is  required.  It 
would  be  misleading,  however,  to  suggest  that 
the  earlier  and  younger  midshipmen  did  not 
work,  and  the  final  results  speak  well  for  their 
training. 

There  were  six  departments  of  instruction 
when  Perkins  entered  the  Academy,  and  two 
years  later  they  were  increased  to  eight.  The  fol 
lowing  is  a  list:  (i)  Naval  tactics  and  practical 


AT  THE  NAVAL  ACADEMY  19 

seamanship.  (2)  Mathematics,  navigation,  and 
astronomy.  (3)  Natural  and  experimental  philoso 
phy;  mechanics;  steam  engines.  (4)  The  theory 
of  gunnery,  field  artillery,  and  infantry  tactics; 
the  art  of  defense,  including  fencing.  (5)  Ethics, 
rhetoric,  geography,  history,  international  and 
military  law.  (6)  French.  (7)  Spanish.  (8) 
Drawing. 

Among  those  permanently  attached  to  the 
academic  staff  at  this  time  was  Professor  Henry 
H.  Lockwood,  U.S.N.  He  had  been  at  the  Acad 
emy  since  its  founding  and  had  been  one  of  the 
master  spirits  in  organizing  the  courses.  He  began 
with  teaching  mathematics  and  natural  philoso 
phy,  but  when  Lieutenant  Dahlgren  after  a  few 
lectures  on  gunnery  gave  up  his  department  in 
disgust,  Lockwood  (who  was  a  graduate  of  West 
Point  and  had  served  with  distinction  in  the 
Florida  campaign  of  1836-37)  immediately  took 
up  the  more  technical  work.  He  drilled  the  mid 
shipmen  in  light  artillery  and  simple  infantry 
evolutions.  This  they  strongly  resented.  The 
traditions  of  the  navy  had  all  been  against  the 
sailors'  touching  even  thus  remotely  upon  the 
domain  of  the  soldiers.  The  experiment  had  been 
tried  with  the  bluejackets  and  their  unwillingness 


20        GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

had  caused  it  to  fail.  Loud  were  the  murmurings 
of  the  midshipmen  because  of  Lockwood's  inno 
vations,  and  on  St.  Patrick's  Day  they  hanged 
him  in  effigy  from  the  Academy  flagstaff.  But  he 
kept  on  with  the  drills  and  finally  succeeded. 

There  is  an  incident  often  related  that  shows 
how  spirited  was  the  conflict,  in  which  the  mid 
shipmen  would  obstinately  slouch  and  stand  on 
one  leg  in  the  most  unsoldierly  fashion  while 
Lockwood  sought  to  bring  them  up  to  West  Point 
standards. 

One  day,  while  drilling  the  midshipmen  in  field  artil 
lery,  he  started  them  off  in  the  direction  of  the  Severn 
River.  When  the  head  of  the  column  reached  the 
steep  embankment  on  the  shore,  Lockwood  tried  to 
give  the  command,  "Halt!"  but,  unfortunately,  his 
tendency  to  stutter  just  at  that  moment  asserted 
itself.  "Haw  —  haw  —  haw,"  he  shouted,  but  the 
word  would  not  come.  On  went  the  battery  over 
the  bank  —  there  was  no  sea-wall  then  —  and  into  the 
river  went  the  guns.  The  youngsters  who  manned 
the  drag-ropes  were  preparing  to  swim  across  when  the 
belated  order  at  last  arrived.1 

The  regime  had  become  better  established  by 
185 1  when  Perkins  arrived  on  the  scene,  and  prog 
ress  was  marked  during  the  latter  part  of  his 
course  in  Superintendent  Goldsborough's  admin- 
1  Benjamin,  The  United  States  Naval  Academy,  p.  185. 


AT  THE  NAVAL  ACADEMY  21 

istration.  Still  it  was  the  youthful,  scarcely 
formed  Academy  of  which  he  was  a  part. 

Foremost  among  those  who  imparted  sound 
traditions,  and  at  the  same  time  aroused  mischief, 
were  the  "oldsters"  —  midshipmen  who,  accord 
ing  to  the  early  provisions  of  the  Academy,  came 
after  several  years  of  sea  service  to  prepare  for 
examination.  They  were  senior  by  five  or  ten 
years  to  the  "youngsters"  (those  entered  in  1851 
or  later  and  taking  the  four  years'  consecutive 
course),  and  some  of  them  had  served  in  the 
Mexican  War.  It  was  chiefly  owing  to  their  influ 
ence  that  there  was  no  hazing  (unlike  West  Point 
and  most  of  the  colleges).  But  they  had  been 
accustomed  to  considerable  freedom  and  found  it 
hard  to  conform  to  Academy  regulations.  The 
youngsters  followed  their  lead  and  got  in  trouble 
by  card-playing,  drinking,  and  "frenching"  — 
leaving  the  Academy  grounds  without  permis 
sion,  usually  after  nightfall,  by  scaling  the  walls. 

Midshipman  Perkins,  with  his  active  nature 
and  fondness  for  all  kinds  of  fun,  found  much  to 
lure  him  from  study.  The  influence  of  home  and 
his  naturally  high  instincts  kept  him  from  dissi 
pation,  but  in  nearly  all  the  innocent  pranks  he 
seems  to  have  had  a  part.  He  was  reported  for 


22        GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

a  fair  number  of  offenses,  but  evidently  for  not 
nearly  all  of  those  actually  committed.  He  attri 
buted  his  lucky  escapes  to  the  fact  that  he  was 
a  little  fellow  and  was  quite  hidden  under  "Old 
Goldy's"  huge  figure,  as  the  inquisitorial  eye  of 
the  stately  Superintendent  sought  out  the  authors 
of  mischievous  pranks  and  irregularities. 

The  following  from  the  Conduct  Roll,  1853-54, 
are  some  of  the  reports  made  against  him : "  Room 
not  swept  before  prayers";  "Absent  from  roll 
call " ;  "  Light  in  room  after  taps  " ; "  Playing  chess 
in  room  during  study  hours";  "Greasing  the  floor 
of  his  room";  "Visiting  after  taps";  "Skylarking 
when  marching  up  to  recitation  " ; "  Injury  to  pub 
lic  property  (filing  gas-burner)";  "Boxing  in  the 
porch  of  mess  hall";  "Ink  spilled  on  floor  of 
room";  "Visiting  the  kitchen  at  9.50  P.M." 

Entertaining  his  friends  or  visiting  after  taps 
was  a  particularly  common  offense  on  George's 
part,  for  he  was  ever  sociable.  "Greasing  the 
floor"  was  incidental  to  some  rich  "feed"  in 
dulged  in  after  the  officer-in-charge  had  presum 
ably  gone  to  his  rest. 

Admiral  Marian,  who  entered  the  Academy  the 
same  year  Perkins  was  graduated,  remarks  on  the 
manner  with  which  the  officers  at  the  naval  school 


AT  THE  NAVAL  ACADEMY  23 

treated  the  midshipman  pranks.1  Probably  most 
of  them,  although  recognizing  the  duty  of  enforce- 
ing  regulations,  sympathized  with  the  youthful 
exuberance  of  spirit;  and  considered  the  matter  of 
detection  and  reporting  as  a  game  in  which  they 
did  not  mind  being  occasional  losers,  provided  that 
the  midshipmen  did  not  trespass  on  the  stand 
ards  of  a  gentleman.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
midshipmen  had  no  personal  feeling  against  the 
officer  catching  them,  provided  he  used  only  what 
they  regarded  as  fair  means.  The  lieutenant  who 
inspected  at  unusual  hours,  or  put  on  rubber  shoes 
so  as  to  give  no  notice  of  his  approach,  was  the 
subject,  in  the  private  conversations  of  the  mid 
shipmen,  of  much  condemnatory  eloquence.  In 
sharp  contrast  was  such  an  officer  as  John  Taylor 
Wood.  It  is  related  that  as  he  came  into  a  build 
ing  he  would  tap  on  the  steam  pipes  and  then 
wait  a  few  minutes  before  beginning  inspection. 
It  is  needless  to  say  Wood  found  little  to  report, 
and  perhaps  enough  midshipmen  appreciated  his 
generous  treatment  so  that  the  number  of 
offenses  was  not  really  increased. 

What  object  Midshipman  Perkins  had  in  filing 
his  gas-burner,  for  which  he  was  twice  reported, 
1  Mahan,  From  Sail  to  Steam,  p.  56. 


24        GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

we  can  only  conjecture.  There  was  some  game 
connected  with  it,  perhaps  of  the  character  which 
Dick  Prentiss,  killed  at  Mobile,  is  said  to  have 
taught  his  classmates.  He  would  place  a  handker 
chief  over  the  burner,  and,  blowing  into  the  pipe 
until  he  was  black  in  the  face,  put  out  the  gas  in 
the  rest  of  the  building.1 

We  get  an  idea  of  the  daily  routine  to  which 
Perkins  had  to  adapt  himself  on  entering  the 
Academy  from  the  report  of  the  Board  of  Exam 
iners,  October  10,  1851:- 

Before  breakfast  the  students  are  required  to  make 
up  their  beds,  and  clean  out  their  rooms.  ...  At  7.15 
A.M.  the  students  attend  prayers,  and  at  7.30  go  to 
breakfast.  At  8  A.M.  recitations  commence  and  con 
tinue  until  I  P.M.;  are  resumed  at  2,  and  continue  till 
4  P.M.  From  4  P.M.  until  sunset,  exercises  either  at 
great  guns,  small  arms,  sword,  or  field  artillery.  Im 
mediately  after  dress  parade  the  students  go  to  supper. 
Dinner  at  I  P.M.  during  the  session.  Study  hours  from 
8  A.M.  to  I  P.M.,  arid  from  2  to  4  P.M.,  and  from  7  to  9.30 
P.M.;  at  10  P.M.  the  lights  are  put  out. 

There  are  no  academic  studies  on  Saturday,  but  the 
forenoon  of  that  day  is  devoted  to  military  exercises. 
The  afternoon  is  devoted  to  recreation,  one  half  the 
students  being  permitted  to  visit  the  city,  and  the 
other  half  allowed  to  sail  or  row  boats,  or  amuse  them 
selves  about  the  grounds  of  the  Academy. 

1  Davenport,  On  a  Man-oj-War,  p.  240. 


AT  THE  NAVAL  ACADEMY  25 

In  general  the  daily  programme  of  the  early 
fifties  is  that  of  the  present.  Midshipmen  are 
now  roused  by  the  morning  gun  and  reveille  at 
6.30,  end  their  study  with  the  evening  gun  at  9.30, 
and,  putting  out  their  lights,  turn  in  as  taps 
sounds  at  10.  The  one  important  innovation  is  the 
period  of  liberty  from  5  to  6.30  in  the  afternoon, 
when  nearly  all  the  midshipmen  engage  in  some 
form  of  athletic  sports.  Whatever  may  be  the 
opinion  as  to  the  benefits  or  injuries  of  the  great 
contests  in  football  and  rowing,  there  can  be  no 
question  as  to  the  excellent  results  of  the  recrea 
tion  period  at  the  Academy.  It  has  tended  to 
strengthen  and  purify  the  life,  and,  while  increas 
ing  the  general  happiness  and  contentment,  has 
not  on  the  whole  detracted  from  study. 

In  Perkins's  time  outside  sports  in  the  limited 
hours  when  they  were  permitted  consisted  chiefly 
of  sailing,  canoeing,  and  swimming.  Parties  would 
often  be  organized  to  go  sailing,  and  young  ladies 
—  daughters  of  the  officers  or  friends  living  or 
visiting  in  town  —  added  piquancy  to  the  small 
adventures. 

In  their  times  of  freedom  in  the  evening  the 
midshipmen  would  get  together  behind  the  Bat 
tery,  smoke  "contrabands,"  tell  stories,  and  sing 


26        GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

songs  of  their  own  devising.  The  poetic  muse  was 
not  very  strong,  and  but  few  of  the  songs  were 
worth  recording.  One  of  the  most  popular  and 
spirited  was  that  in  anticipation  of  the  long  leave 
of  absence  which  comprised  the  whole  of  the 
second  summer  of  the  course,  sung  to  the  tune  of 
"The  Wearing  of  the  Green": - 

Come  all  ye  gallant  middies 

Who  are  going  on  furlough, 

We'll  sing  the  song  of  liberty, 
We're  going  for  to  go. 

Take  your  tobacco  lively 

And  pass  the  grog  around, 
We'll  have  a  jolly  time  to-night 

Before  we're  homeward  bound. 

Our  sweethearts  waiting  for  us, 
With  eyes  brimful  of  tears, 

Will  welcome  us  back  home  again 
From  an  absence  of  two  years.1 

Occasionally  there  was  a  dance  held  in  the 
Lyceum,  a  room  above  the  mess  hall,  and  there 
were  various  little  parties  given  on  Saturdays  and 
holidays  in  the  charming  Southern  homes  of  the 
old  Maryland  capital.  Midshipmen  were  per 
petually  hungry  and  the  kindly  mothers  and 
winsome  daughters  knew  what  would  please. 

1  Quoted  by  Benjamin,  The  United  States  Naval  Academy,  p.  214. 


AT  THE  NAVAL  ACADEMY  27 

The  close  relationship  between  officers'  families 
and  midshipmen  has  since  the  foundation  of  the 
Academy  been  one  of  its  happiest  features.  Most 
of  the  officers  are  furnished  quarters  in  the  yard, 
and  no  matter  how  stern  and  distant  the  elderly 
gentlemen  in  uniform  may  be,  they  do  not  pre 
vent  the  youngsters  from  delighting  in  the 
friendly  cheer  of  the  milder  members  of  the 
family.  Permission  to  visit  officers'  quarters  is 
subject  to  regulation  and  limited  to  certain  days 
and  hours.  It  is  regarded  as  one  of  the  privileges, 
and  it  has  never  lost  this  character  by  being  made 
too  common.  The  wives  and  daughters  have  thus 
been  a  strong  moulding  influence  at  Annapolis. 
This  has  been  more  marked  than  at  the  leading 
colleges  because  the  lives  of  the  midshipmen  are 
more  sequestered. 

George  Perkins,  with  his  light  heart  and  happy 
temperament,  could  join  in  the  social  gayeties  of 
Academy  life  with  no  ordinary  enthusiasm.  He 
was  good  at  sailing  a  boat,  and  he  particularly 
excelled  in  dancing.  Indeed,  in  the  latter  it  is  said 
that,  when  he  had  for  his  partner  Miss  Kate  Ray, 
a  sparkling  belle  and  a  great  friend  of  George, 
there  was  such  poetry  in  the  motion  that  many 
another  dancer  thought  it  worth  while  to  stop  and 


28        GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

look  on.  If  the  hops  were  simpler  than  at  the 
present  time,  they  were  scarcely  less  spirited. 
Elderly  women,  the  beauties  of  ante-bellum  days, 
indeed  uniformly  affirm  that  they  were  much 
more  attractive:  the  programme  was  not  so  set 
and  formal,  and  the  company  was  small  enough 
so  that  practically  every  one  could  know  every  one 
else.  "Little  Puck,"  as  Miss  Ray  had  dubbed 
Perkins,  was  as  popular  with  the  girls  as  he  was 
with  the  midshipmen,  and  if  there  had  been  no 
such  thing  as  study,  he  would  have  been  su 
premely  happy.  As  it  was,  he  did  not  allow  low 
marks  to  make  him  noticeably  serious  or  melan 
choly. 

When  George  had  been  a  year  at  the  Academy, 
he  found  an  agreeable  change  in  duties  afforded 
by  the  summer  practice  cruise.  The  sloop  of  war 
Preble  had  been  given  to  the  naval  school  a  few 
months  previous,  that  the  midshipmen  might 
have  what  would  correspond  to  West  Point's 
annual  encampment.  The  Preble,  under  Lieu 
tenant  Thomas  T.  Craven,  the  commandant,  went 
on  the  first  practice  cruise  to  the  West  Indies  and 
the  Madeiras.  Next  summer  George  sailed  again 
under  the  same  officer  to  Horta,  on  the  island 
of  Fayal;  then  to  Corunna,  on  the  north  coast  of 


AT  THE  NAVAL  ACADEMY  29 

Spain;  and  then  to  Funchal,  Madeira.  According 
to  instructions,  Lieutenant  Craven  kept  at  sea  as 
much  time  as  possible,  making  short  visits  at  a 
few  ports  only  as  it  was  necessary  to  obtain 
supplies. 

After  eight  months  of  continuous  routine  and 
classroom  work,  the  midshipmen  hailed  the  cruise 
as  a  welcome  relief.  The  prospect  was  doubly 
attractive  to  those  who  had  never  traveled,  yet 
who  looked  upon  the  sea  as  their  own  particular 
element.  Much  followed,  however,  quite  out  of 
harmony  with  the  romance  of  the  sailor's  life. 
The  food  was  the  regulation  navy  ration  and  of 
so  poor  a  quality  that  the  midshipmen  went  half 
starved.  Since  they  were  given  practically  no 
spending  money,  it  was  not  uncommon  as  they 
touched  at  a  foreign  port  for  them  to  sell  articles 
of  clothing  or  even  their  sextants  to  buy  something 
to  eat.  It  took  time  to  adjust  themselves  to  sleep 
ing  in  a  hammock,  compared  with  which  the 
hardest  bed  at  the  Academy  was  luxury.  But  if 
the  midshipmen's  affection  for  their  hammocks 
lacked  strength  during  the  first  days  of  the  cruise, 
it  grew  very  rapidly  when  they  were  summoned 
at  midnight,  or  at  four  in  the  morning,  to  climb 
the  ratlines  and  reef  a  sail  while  the  ship  was 


30        GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

pitching  and  all  was  cold  and  dark.  The  midship 
man  occupied  rather  an  anomalous  position;  he 
was  neither  an  officer  nor  a  sailor,  but  he  was 
given  most  of  the  duties  of  both.  Admiral  Mahan 
says :  — 

Ashore  or  afloat,  we  made  our  own  beds  or  lashed 
our  own  hammocks,  swept  our  rooms,  tended  our 
clothes,  and  blacked  our  boots;  our  drills  were  those  of 
the  men  before  the  mast,  at  sails  and  guns;  all  parts 
of  a  seaman's  work,  except  cleaning  the  ship,  was  re 
quired  and  willingly  done.1 

Hardships  had  to  be  encountered,  and  it  is  not 
certain  that  the  officers  did  not  permit  some  that 
were  rather  unnecessary,  that  the  youngsters 
might  be  weaned  from  luxuries  and  taught  endur 
ance.  There  is  a  story  told  of  a  midshipman  of  the 
old  time  who  approached  Commodore  Thomas 
Ap  Catesby  Jones  and  ventured  humbly  to  re 
mark  that  the  quarters  in  the  steerage  were 
uncomfortable. 

"Uncomfortable,  sir,  uncomfortable!"  thun 
dered  the  grim  old  warrior.  "Why,  what  blanked 
fool  ever  joined  the  navy  for  comfort?" 

There  was  also  the  other  side.  Whales,  dol 
phins,  and  other  monsters  of  the  deep,  strange 
sails  and  occasional  glimpses  of  strange  people, 

1  Mahan,  From  Sail  to  Steam,  pp.  101,  102.  Copyright,  1906, 
1907,  by  Harper  &  Brothers. 


AT  THE  NAVAL  ACADEMY  31 

made  the  young  sailors  forget  their  sorrows. 
Most  of  the  midshipmen  knew  little  of  the  waters 
and  lands  they  visited.  In  consequence  the  yarns 
spun  in  the  animated  groups  that  collected,  during 
the  hours  of  freedom,  on  the  forecastle  were  all  the 
more  wildly  imaginative.  With  these  tales  were 
joined  some  fragments  of  real  information  that 
came  from  the  few  bluejackets  and  warrant  offi 
cers  on  board;  they  treated  the  midshipmen  in  a 
respectful  manner,  for  these  lads  might  soon  be 
their  commanding  officers,  yet  there  was  also 
considerable  friendliness  and  familiarity  between 
them. 

The  drills  varied  from  day  to  day  according 
to  the  watch  the  midshipmen  belonged  to.  All 
during  the  cruise  they  received  their  training  in 
knotting  and  splicing,  in  making  and  taking  in 
sail,  in  heaving  the  lead,  etc.  Also  they  were  re 
quired  to  make  drawings  of  yards,  masts,  and 
sails,  explaining  the  position  and  use  of  each  rope. 
They  had  practice  in  preparing  the  ship  for 
action;  they  were  organized  in  gun  crews  and  had 
almost  daily  gun  drills  with  a  fair  amount  of 
target  practice.  In  the  second  summer,  the  first 
class  men,  who  had  the  experience  of  the  previous 
cruise,  were  instructed  in  the  duties  of  sailing- 


32        GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

master.  During  the  day  they  took  charge  of  the 
deck,  and  gave  orders  for  tacking,  wearing,  or 
boxhauling.  They  made  their  observations,  and 
calculated  the  latitude  and  the  longitude.  On 
reaching  Chesapeake  Bay  they  had  frequent 
practice  in  bringing  the  ship  to  anchor  and  getting 
her  under  way. 

The  general  excellence  of  the  midshipmen  in 
target  practice  was  a  surprise  to  Lieutenant 
Craven  and  to  the  Navy  Department.  In  this, 
Perkins  distinguished  himself.  His  exceptional 
skill  occasioned  an  article  in  a  Baltimore  paper 
and  the  article  was  copied  in  the  New  Hampshire 
journals.  I  quote,  however,  from  a  letter  George 
wrote  to  the  home  people :  — 

We  had  target  practice  one  day,  and  it  came  my 
turn  to  shoot.  There  was  quite  a  swell  on  at  the  time, 
which  made  it  difficult  to  get  any  kind  of  a  shot,  but 
when  I  fired,  I  hit  the  target,  which  was  a  barrel  with  a 
small  flag  on  it,  thrown  out  about  three  quarters  of 
a  mile  distant.  Such  a  thing  as  hitting  a  target  at  sea 
with  the  ship  in  motion  and  a  swell  on  is  considered 
almost  impossible,  so  they  all  said  it  was  luck.  But 
another  target  of  the  same  size  was  put  out  at  the  same 
distance,  and  when  I  fired  again  I  tore  this  all  to  pieces. 
Then  the  crew  all  cheered  and  made  quite  a  hero  of 
me,  but  still  some  said  it  must  be  luck;  so  a  third 
target  was  put  out,  of  exactly  the  same  kind,  and  in 
exactly  the  same  manner.  This  one  I  did  not  quite  hit, 


AT  THE  NAVAL  ACADEMY  33 

but  my  shot  fell  so  near  that  all  agreed  that  it  was  not 
luck,  but  that  I  was  a  first-rate  shot  with  broadside 
guns.  ( Since  then  I  have  been  looked  upon  as  having  a 
very  correct  eye  for  distances,  and  am  always  called 
upon  to  fire  whenever  experiments  are  made. 

The  academic  year  began  the  1st  of  October. 
In  returning  from  the  first  cruise  the  Preble 
sped  along  under  favorable  winds  and  reached 
Hampton  Roads  about  September  1 1.  Lieutenant 
Craven,  however,  was  enjoined  by  Superintendent 
Stribling  to  continue  the  practice  and  drills  in 
Chesapeake  Bay  and  not  to  arrive  in  Annapolis 
before  September  27.  This  precaution  was  taken 
to  guard  against  numerous  requests  for  leave  that 
midshipmen  or  their  parents  might  be  tempted  to 
make. 

Instead  of  making  the  month  of  September  one 
of  liberty,  that  midshipmen  might  annually  visit 
their  homes,  —  the  present  system,  —  the  plan 
introduced  in  1854  was  to  grant  one  leave  during 
the  four  years,  a  leave  that  should  include  a  whole 
summer,  commonly  at  the  end  of  the  second  year. 
One  can  imagine  the  ecstasy  of  the  little  home- 
loving  George  Perkins  on  receiving  this  long 
leave,  June  15,  1854,  when  he  had  been  away 
from  home  nearly  three  years. 

He  should  at  that  time  have  been  within  a  year 


34        GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

of  graduation,  but  alas,  he  had  undergone  many 
tribulations.  He  was  not  blind  to  the  fact  that 
poor  scholarship  was  likely  to  sever  once  for  all 
his  connection  with  the  navy.  His  letters  home 
frequently  intimated  that  he  expected  to  "bilge." 
He  spoke  of  the  unhappy  prospect,  however, 
without  melancholy,  and  cheerfully  proceeded  to 
discuss  various  other  possible  careers. 

In  February,  1853,  the  semiannual  examina 
tions  were  "stiffer  than  ever  before,"  and  later 
there  were  many  dark  forebodings  expressed  of 
what  would  follow.  On  the  25th  of  that  month  the 
expected  doom  descended.  Secretary  of  the  Navy 
Kennedy,  in  a  letter  to  Superintendent  Stribling, 
directed  that  those  midshipmen  who  had  been 
found  deficient  at  the  late  examination  —  the 
enumeration  was  of  considerable  length  and  in  it 
appeared  the  name  of  George  H.  Perkins  — 
should  be  "dropped  from  the  list  and  returned  tG 
their  friends." 

Nor  did  misfortunes  come  singly  to  Perkins. 
Just  before  this  he  had  met  with  an  accident,  of 
the  nature  of  which  we  are  not  informed,  and  was 
taken  to  sick  quarters.  This  accident,  however, 
had  the  fortunate  result  of  delaying  matters  at  a 
critical  time.  Superintendent  Stribling  writes  to 


AT  THE  NAVAL  ACADEMY  35 

Secretary  Kennedy  on  February  28:  Perkins  "re 
ceived  a  severe  injury  more  than  a  week  ago,  and 
is  unfit  to  travel ;  I  have  withheld  his  letter  of  dis 
missal  until  I  could  submit  his  case  to  you." 

There  was  a  reconsideration,  and  Perkins,  in 
stead  of  being  "returned  to  his  friends,"  was 
directed  to  continue  his  studies  with  the  next 
lower  class.  This  lengthened  his  course  at  the 
Academy  a  year,  but  fortunately  for  the  navy  he 
was  graduated  in  1856. 

Another  midshipman  of  this  time,  who  later 
was  to  attain  great  distinction,  was  also  having 
a  hard  struggle.  George  Dewey,  who  entered  in 
1854,  came  very  near  leaving  in  consequence  of 
his  first  June  examination.  He  was  unsatisfactory 
in  conduct,  geography,  and  history.  A  moder 
ately  good  grade  in  mathematics  saved  him. 

Commodore  Phythian,  one  of  Perkins's  class 
mates,  and  later  superintendent  of  the  Academy, 
tells  of  Perkins's  career  as  a  midshipman :- 

He  should  not  have  been  turned  back;  he  had 
ability  but  did  not  study.  He  was  the  most  popular 
man  in  the  Academy,  full  of  life  and  spirits.  Because 
of  his  superabundant  life  he  was  always  breaking 
regulations  and  getting  into  scrapes.  Indeed,  at  times 
he  seemed  almost  reckless  and  daredevil. 

While  Perkins  was  the  most  pouplar  man  in  the 


36        GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

Academy,  he  was  the  most  modest.  He  lacked  confi 
dence  especially  in  his  mental  abilities.  For  example,  I 
remember  he  put  a  problem  on  the  board  correctly; 
but  as  he  turned  about  and  saw  a  classmate  laughing 
as  he  thought  at  his  mistake,  he  rubbed  his  work  out. 

George  Perkins's  lack  of  success  at  the  Acad 
emy  was  because  he  had  not  learned  to  grapple 
with  the  disagreeable  and  win  the  sweet  pleasure 
of  mastering  what  unmastered  must  be  continu 
ous  annoyance  and  vexation.  He  had  to  undergo 
the  discipline  of  long  and  dreary  cruises  in  Central 
American  and  West  African  waters  before  he 
stood  forth  the  strong  and  efficient  man.  Perhaps 
the  most  significant  incident  of  his  career  as 
acting  midshipman  was  his  success  in  target 
practice  on  the  summer  cruise.  It  showed  the 
sharp  eye  and  the  cool  nerve  that  were  to  mean 
so  much  a  few  years  later  at  New  Orleans  and 
Mobile  Bay. 


CHAPTER  III 

IN    CENTRAL   AND    SOUTH   AMERICAN  WATERS 

THE  discovery  of  gold  in  California  caused 
Nicaragua  and  Panama  to  leap  into  promi 
nence.  The  journey  from  Missouri  across  the 
plains  required  a  whole  summer  and  entailed  the 
severest  hardships.  A  much  easier  route  was  by 
way  of  Central  America.  The  Accessory  Transit 
Company,  organized  by  Cornelius  Vanderbilt, 
could  under  favorable  conditions  take  a  passenger 
from  New  York  to  San  Francisco  in  nineteen 
days.  The  itinerary  was :  New  York  to  Grey  town, 
Nicaragua,  by  ocean  steamer;  across  the  isthmus 
chiefly  by  lake  and  river  steamers,  a  few  miles 
being  by  coach;  and  then  north  by  ocean  steamer 
to  San  Francisco.  Upwards  of  20,000  people 
traveled  this  route  in  a  year.  Not  as  many  at 
first  went  by  Panama,  for  the  more  southern 
route  necessitated  three  days  longer  at  sea. 
When,  however,  in  1855,  a  railway  was  completed 
between  Aspinwall  (Colon)  and  Panama,  and  a 
revolution  occurred  in  Nicaragua,  the  Panama 
route  grew  in  popularity. 


38        GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

The  people  living  in  the  towns  on  both  routes 
were  of  a  desperate  character.  The  more  enter 
prising  (not  a  few  escaped  criminals  from  the 
States)  kept  hotels,  and  they  all  made  their  living 
by  preying  on  those  going  to  or  from  California. 
As  a  naval  officer  who  spent  three  months  on  this 
coast  wrote,  "They  resembled  the  old  buccaneers 
in  everything  save  courage."  In  view  of  these 
conditions,  Secretary  of  the  Navy  Toucey  ordered 
in  December,  1856,  that  two  ships  should  take 
their  station  at  Panama  and  a  sloop  of  war  at 
Aspinwall,  "to  afford  protection  to  the  persons 
and  property  of  the  thousands  of  our  countrymen 
crossing  the  Isthmus,  from  the  violence  of  an  un- 
governed  population."  The  sloop  referred  to  was 
the  Cyane,  and  among  her  junior  officers  as  she 
sailed  from  Boston,  November  5,  1856,  was  Mid 
shipman  Perkins. 

He  had  just  come  from  a  visit  at  home,  but  that 
made  him  no  less  reluctant  in  venturing  out  on  his 
first  long  cruise.  He  was  never  given  to  melan 
choly,  yet  there  is  a  frequent  touch  of  homesick 
ness  that  appears  in  his  letters.  He  begins  a 
journal  letter  to  his  mother  on  November  9:  — 

We  left  Boston  last  Wednesday  afternoon,  and  had  a 
fine  breeze  out  of  the  harbor.  Everything  bid  fair  that 


CENTRAL  AND  SOUTH  AMERICA     39 

I  should  not  be  seasick  and  I  went  to  bed  as  happy  as 
I  could  under  the  circumstances;  for  I  was  thinking 
of  you  all  and  comparing  one  of  your  good  rooms 
and  beds  to  the  cramped  up  steerage  and  hammock. 
During  the  night  it  came  on  to  blow,  and  as  I  had  the 
morning  watch,  I  received  the  full  benefit  of  the  gale; 
and  was  n't  I  sick!  I  am  afraid  there  is  very  little  left 
of  your  good  living. 

How  often  I  wished  that  I  had  never  chosen  such  a 
profession  and  that  I  had  never  left  home.  All  that 
day  it  continued  to  blow,  but  the  next  was  pleasant, 
and  I  somewhat  recovered.  The  sickness,  however, 
hung  on  for  a  long  while,  and  I  should  certainly  have 
deserted  had  the  ship  touched  land.  During  my  long 
night  watches  I  am  always  thinking  of  you  at  home. 
I  have  never  missed  my  home  so  much  as  I  have  since 
I  last  left  it.  ...  The  weather  is  rather  warm,  for  we 
are  now  in  about  Latitude  30°  N.,  but  to-day  is  rainy 
and  a  heavy  sea  runs.  I  am  writing  to  you  in  our  dark 
little  hole,  where  one  solitary  tallow  candle  is  burning. 

We  have  a  great  deal  to  do  on  board  this  ship.  I  am 
in  charge  of  the  "spirit  room,"  but  never  fear!  the 
whiskey  is  so  bad  that  I  could  not  touch  it,  if  I  was  so 
inclined.  I  am  also  in  charge  of  the  magazine.  But  if 
we  get  into  a  fight  you  need  not  be  alarmed  unless  the 
ship  gets  on  fire,  for  in  action  I  am  below  the  water  line 
and.no  ball  can  reach  me.  So  you  see  your  hopeful  George 
is  quite  safe  from  the  whiskey  and  the  cannon  balls. 

Sunday,  November  16.  —  I  suppose  you  are  all  get 
ting  ready  for  church.  If  I  was  at  home  I  do  not  know 
but  that  I  should  go.  We  have  no  church  here.  Sunday 
in  ten  fathoms  of  water  is  never  regarded.  So  there  is 
scarcely  any  Sunday  for  the  sailor;  still,  he  seems  to  be 
a  good  fellow. 


40        GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

Our  darkie  is  making  bread  in  the  steerage.  You 
would  laugh  to  see  him  work,  but  unless  you  became 
very  hungry  I  think  you  would  eat  very  little  of  the 
bread.  It  is  rather  heavy,  but  we  manage  to  down  it. 
We  scarcely  ever  have  any  dessert;  when  we  do,  it  con 
sists  of  boiled  dried  apples  mixed  with  bread  and 
whiskey  and  then  baked. 

Friday,  November  21.  —  We  have  been  becalmed 
for  the  past  few  days  and  have  succeeded  in  passing 
the  time  rather  pleasantly.  We  have  caught  a  good 
many  dolphin  —  and  fishing  for  them  is  grand  sport. 
During  the  evening  we  generally  go  on  the  forecastle 
and  hear  the  men  sing,  fiddle,  and  play  other  instru 
ments.  Until  eight  o'clock  you  would  almost  imagine 
you  were  on  board  a  music  box. 

Sunday,  November  23.  —  I  have  been  trying  to  go 
to  sleep  ever  since  dinner  but  have  given  up  in  despair, 
for  it  is  so  warm  that  it  seems  as  though  I  should  suffo 
cate.  If  this  wind  holds  we  shall  be  in  Aspinwall  next 
Tuesday,  for  we  have  had  the  full  benefit  of  the  north 
east  trades.  The  ship  is  rather  uncomfortable,  and  it 
rains  nearly  every  five  minutes. 

As  it  is  the  Sabbath,  everything  is  very  quiet.  This 
morning  a  man  was  sentenced  by  a  summary  court- 
martial  to  four  days  of  solitary  confinement  in  double 
irons  with  nothing  but  bread  and  water  for  food;  then 
he  will  have  thirty  days  of  extra  duty.  This  sentence 
was  for  impertinence. 

Aspinwall  and  the  Isthmus  were  new  and  inter 
esting  country  to  George.  The  rainy  season  was 
hardly  at  an  end  and  there  was  a  miasma  that 
hung  over  the  town.  At  the  first  opportunity, 


CENTRAL  AND  SOUTH  AMERICA      41 

however,  he  went  ashore.  It  was  a  hard  life  that 
he  saw;  there  were  a  few  haggard,  bilious-looking 
Americans  in  white,  smoking  perpetually  —  they 
were  the  traders,  the  hotel-keepers,  and  the  bar 
tenders;  there  were  also  mulattoes  from  Jamaica 
who  had  shops ;  while  the  largest  part  of  the  popu 
lation  (of  about  800)  were  coal-black  negroes  from 
Jamaica,  who  constituted  the  laboring  class.  The 
negroes,  both  men  and  women,  went  about  half 
naked,  while  many  an  infant  was  carried  on  its 
parent's  arm  or  played  in  the  mud,  clothed  only 
in  its  innocence.  All  who  had  been  there  for  any 
length  of  time,  including  even  the  dusky  children, 
were  victims  of  fever.  The  following  is  George's 
description  of  the  place  as  he  writes  home:  — 

It  is  an  awful  hole.  The  town  is  built  on  a  low  coral 
island.  There  are  few  Americans  here,  and  they  are  of 
a  degraded  order.  The  natives  are  a  miserable  set  of 
beings,  and  seem  ready  and  anxious  to  be  in  a  row  with 
the  Americans.  There  are  five  rickety  hotels  (I  suppose 
lumber  is  scarce)  and  a  few  huts.  From  the  marshes 
comes  a  very  bad  odor  caused  by  decayed  vegetation. 

It  has  rained  nearly  every  day  since  we  have  lain 
here,  and  it  has  been  damp  and  disagreeable  all  over 
the  ship.  To-day,  however,  is  pleasant,  and  it  is  my 
day  to  go  on  shore.  But  as  I  have  nothing  of  the  need 
ful,  and  as  there  is  nothing  going  on,  I  thought  I  would 
stay  on  board. 

The  steamer  will  be  in  in  a  few  days,  and  I  am  look- 


42         GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

ing  anxiously  for  a  letter.  There  is  always  considerable 
excitement  when  the  steamer  arrives,  due  to  the 
amount  of  travel.  The  passengers  stay  here  overnight, 
and  you  have  no  idea  what  hard  cases  most  of  them 
are.  Those  that  come  from  California  wear  revolvers 
in  their  belts.  Most  of  them  that  I  saw  were  a  pitiable 
looking  set.  Many  of  them,  I  should  judge,  were  going 
home  to  die. 

Anything  that  would  break  the  monotony  and 
put  life  into  the  corpse-like  town  must  have  been 
grateful.  But  the  letters  from  home,  brought  by 
the  fortnightly  steamers  with  the  gold-seekers, 
meant  more  than  all  else  to  George.  He  writes  to 
his  sister  Susan:  — 

If  you  could  imagine  the  joy  with  which  I  greet  the 
letters  from  home  you  would  intercede  for  me  and 
have  many  more  written. 

And  similarly  to  his  mother:  — 

When  I  do  not  get  a  letter  I  am  always  afraid  you 
are  not  well.  I  try  to  think  that  all  is  right,  but  I  am 
not  exactly  easy  in  my  mind.  Tell  me  what  you  did 
during  the  Christmas  holidays,  and  if  I  can  persuade 
myself  that  you  are  only  well  and  happy  I  will  try  and 
be  contented. 

A  week  previous  to  Christmas  he  secured  a 
little  liberty  just  as  a  shipload  of  passengers, 
bound  for  California,  arrived.  With  Midshipman 
Blodgett  he  boarded  the  train  and  went  with  the 


CENTRAL  AND  SOUTH  AMERICA     43 

emigrants  across  the  Isthmus  to  Panama.  It  was 
a  day  of  novelty.  Even  Aspinwall,  where  for  the 
past  two  weeks  nothing  had  happened  except 
dog-fighting  and  cock-fighting,  put  on  an  ani 
mated  appearance  with  the  Stars  and  Stripes  fly 
ing  from  every  hotel  and  drinking  saloon.  Leav 
ing  the  town  and  the  glistening  Atlantic  they 
plunged  into  the  depths  of  the  forest.  For  seven 
miles  the  locomotive  puffed  and  sent  out  its  shower 
of  sparks  through  the  intricacies  of  a  vast  marsh. 
Here  George  saw  luxuriance  of  vegetation  such  as 
he  had  never  looked  on  before.  On  every  side 
were  impenetrable  mangroves.  Gigantic  espaves 
and  coratos  rose  to  a  height  of  one  hundred  and 
thirty  feet  with  a  diameter  scarcely  short  of  ten 
feet.  Even  where  extensive  work  had  been  done 
on  the  road-bed,  nature  quickly  had  concealed 
the  wounds;  decay  of  fallen  timber  was  almost 
immediate,  and  so  rapid  had  been  the  new  growth 
that  a  clearing  of  a  year  before,  except  for  the 
absence  of  the  larger  trees,  showed  scarcely  a 
trace.  The  midshipmen  were  desirous  of  seeing, 
above  all  things,  some  of  the  tropical  game.  But 
the  pumas,  if  there  were  any  within  miles,  refused 
to  appear  from  their  dark  retreats,  nor  did  even  a 
curious  monkey  or  parrot  come  near. 


44        GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

At  Culebra,  the  highest  point  on  the  line,  dusky 
ladies  with  Panama  hats  greeted  them  with  great 
friendliness  and  generously  urged  their  oranges, 
bananas,  and  pineapples.  The  price,  incidentally, 
was  four  times  as  high  as  they  would  have  paid 
in  Boston  or  New  York,  but  by  this  time  they 
would  have  been  surprised  at  anything  else. 

From  Culebra  the  road  made  a  rapid  descent, 
and  soon,  as  announced  by  hundreds  of  cries,  the 
majestic  Pacific  was  in  sight.  Winding  in  and  out 
among  the  cocoanut  palms,  the  train  finally 
stopped  almost  on  the  very  shore.  The  trip  had 
been  forty-nine  miles  and  had  taken  four  hours 
and  a  half. 

The  midshipmen  went  to  Panama  on  Saturday 
and  did  not  return  till  Monday.  This  gave  them 
Sunday  there,  which  is  always  the  day  of  special 
animation  in  Spanish  countries.  Panama  was 
wretched  enough,  but  far  in  advance  of  Aspin- 
wall,  which  could  boast  of  only  one  white  woman. 
George  writes  home  of  having  "a  very  pleasant 
time,"  but  the  only  incident  he  relates  is  a  call  he 
made. 

The  master  of  the  Independence  introduced  me  to  a 
Spanish  family,  and  I  passed  an  hour  very  agreeably. 
I  did  not  have  much  to  say,  for  they  could  not  under- 


CENTRAL  AND  SOUTH  AMERICA     45 

English  or  I  Spanish.  One  of  the  daughters  was 
very  handsome,  so  of  course  I  spoke  with  my  eyes. 

In  Aspinwall  time  passed  slowly,  and  for  the 
young  officer,  not  enthusiastic  over  seeing  a  cock 
fight  and  drinking  champagne  cocktails,  there 
was  little  to  interest  him.  On  shipboard,  however, 
there  were  many  things  contrived  for  amusement. 
George  writes  to  his  mother  on  February  17:  — 

I  have  just  returned  from  a  boat-race,  between  the 
captain's  gig  and  the  Dolphin.  I  was  in  charge  of  the 
gig  and  was  beaten  by  about  three  rods  in  three  miles. 
It  was  good  sport,  and  I  enjoyed  it  very  much. 

He  describes  the  celebration  of  Washington's 
birthday  on  the  Cyane  as  follows :  — 

The  ship  was  dressed  in  flags  and  looked  very  hand 
some.  At  meridian  we  fired  a  salute  and  spliced  the 
main  braces,  that  is,  gave  the  men  two  drinks  of 
whiskey.  The  wardroom  officers  gave  a  blow-out  and 
invited  the  midshipmen,  who  are  never  known  to 
refuse  such  invitations.  It  consisted  of  everything 
that  blow-outs  generally  do.  The  captain  was  very 
entertaining,  but  the  midshipmen  were  particularly 
quiet,  and  distinguished  themselves  only  when  it  came 
time  for  eating  and  drinking.  Towards  night  it  rained 
and  blew  fearfully.  The  men  had  smuggled  out  a  great 
deal  of  liquor,  and  the  crew  were  nearly  all  drunk,  but 
they  seemed  happy  and  jolly  and  were  singing  all  over 
the  ship.  Suddenly  the  singing  stopped,  and  as  I  was 
sitting  forward  I  heard  whispers  pass  that  a  man  had 


46        GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

been  stabbed.  I  fastened  on  to  one  of  the  men  and 
made  him  tell  me  where  the  man  was.  He  took  me 
down  to  a  dark  hole  underneath  all  the  hammocks.  I 
sent  for  the  first  lieutenant  and  a  light.  We  found  the 
man  cut  very  badly,  but  he  was  drunk  and  you  know 
the  saying,  "A  drunken  man  can't  be  killed";  so  this 
one  is  now  in  a  fine  way  of  recovery.  The  man  who 
stabbed  him  was  found  and  confined. 

George  closes  with  the  moral  reflection :  - 

I  have  no  doubt  but  Washington's  birthday  is  to 
many  people,  and  in  many  ways,  a  day  of  happiness, 
but  it  is  also  the  cause  of  a  great  many  sore  heads. 

Midshipman  Perkins  had  far  too  active  a 
nature  to  remain  cooped  up  in  a  ship  lying  off 
shore.  Two  trips  by  railroad  to  Panama  did  not 
quench  his  desire  to  see  the  wilds.  In  due  time, 
however,  he  had  an  adventure  that  was  quite 
sufficient.  It  is  narrated  in  his  letter  of  March 
IS,  1857:- 

I  have  been  twice  on  shore  hunting  since  I  wrote 
last.  The  first  time  I  went  after  parrots  and  monkeys, 
but  being  warned  after  we  had  started  that  the  woods 
were  dangerous,  we  did  not  dare  to  go  in  very  far.  We 
were  not  successful;  for  in  trying  to  get  at  some  mon 
keys  that  we  saw,  we  scared  up  three  panthers,  and  as 
I  had  nothing  but  shot  in  my  gun  and  knew  that  they 
are  very  bad  when  wounded,  I  was  afraid  to  fire. 
Deciding  that  "discretion  was  the  better  part  of 
valor,"  I  went  to  a  hut  which  I  saw  and  which  proved 


CENTRAL  AND  SOUTH  AMERICA     47 

to  be  inhabited  by  an  old  native  woman  and  her  two 
daughters.  They  were  very  kind  and  pleasant,  and 
I  passed  the  afternoon  there  trying  to  talk  Spanish 
with  them. 

When  we  went  hunting  again,  a  few  days  after,  we 
did  not  have  such  good  luck.  The  gunner  and  I  went 
ashore,  borrowed  a  rickety  old  boat,  and  getting  all 
ready,  with  the  exception  of  something  to  eat,  started 
across  the  bay,  a  distance  of  four  miles.  We  went 
across  very  well,  but  in  attempting  to  land  we  found  it 
was  dangerous,  for  the  breakers  ran  so  high  that  they 
upset  our  boat.  But  we  managed  to  land  at  last,  and 
hauled  the  boat  ashore  without  much  damage. 

After  hunting  three  or  four  hours  and  having  pretty 
good  luck  we  thought  we  had  better  go  back.  It  was 
now  blowing  hard  and  the  natives  told  us  to  wait  till 
the  gale  was  over.  But  as  it  was  becoming  late  and  we 
were  afraid  that  if  we  delayed  longer  we  should  have  to 
stay  all  night,  we  decided  to  get  off.  We  lashed  our 
guns  and  the  natives  shoved  us  well  out  from  the 
shore,  but  the  moment  we  tried  to  sail  our  boat  keeled 
over  on  her  beam  ends  and  half  filled  with  water.  I  had 
the  helm  and  knew  everything  depended  on  me;  the 
situation  was  not  very  pleasant,  for  in  whatever  di 
rection  I  looked  I  could  see  the  play  of  a  shark's  fin. 
The  boat  soon  righted,  but  the  wind  blew  so  hard  and 
the  waves  were  so  high  that  we  found  we  could  neither 
return  to  the  shore  nor  go  towards  the  ship,  which  was 
about  seven  miles  away  and  in  such  a  direction  that 
we  should  have  to  run  before  the  wind.  Then,  when 
ever  we  turned  towards  the  shore  the  breakers  drove  us 
on  the  rocks,  which  rose  all  about  us.  At  last  we  saw  a 
little  cove  where  it  seemed  as  if  we  might  be  safe  if  we 
could  only  reach  it,  and  we  decided  to  make  for  that  at 


48        GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

all  hazards.  We  got  within  forty  feet  of  it,  and  began 
to  think  we  were  safe  at  last,  when  our  fore  sheet  got 
foul,  and  a  squall  just  then  striking  the  boat,  over  she 
went.  If  the  foremast  had  not  been  carried  away  I  do 
not  suppose  I  should  be  writing  to  you  now.  We  had  to 
work  hard  to  right  the  boat,  and  all  the  time  we  were 
overboard,  which  was  about  two  hours,  I  expected  to 
be  bitten  by  a  shark.  Meanwhile  the  breakers  were  so 
strong  they  would  continually  knock  us  off  the  boat. 
But  at  last  she  righted,  and  we  just  barely  cleared  the 
rocks,  landing  in  the  smooth  water  beyond.  We  were 
both  nearly  exhausted,  having  had  nothing  to  eat 
since  morning,  and  it  was  now  eight  in  the  evening. 
When  we  got  on  shore  the  gunner  told  me  he  had  been 
bitten  by  a  shark  while  in  the  water,  but  the  bite 
proved  not  very  deep.  We  rested  a  little  while  and 
then  began  to  think  what  we  should  do. 

We  found  we  had  landed  close  to  an  impenetrable 
forest,  but  a  river  flowing  into  the  sea  just  there  made  a 
little  beach  where  we  could  move  about.  We  decided  to 
bail  out  the  boat  and  sleep  in  that  if  the  wind  did  not 
go  down.  After  bailing  an  hour  we  had  most  of  the 
water  out  of  her.  As  by  this  time  the  moon  had  risen 
and  the  wind  had  gone  down,  we  determined  to  try 
again  and  reach  the  ship.  This  time  after  three  hours' 
sailing  we  succeeded.  When  we  arrived  on  board  we 
found  the  captain  and  the  other  officers  had  been  very 
anxious  about  us.  They  were  afraid  we  had  been 
driven  on  shore  among  the  breakers  and  lost.  The 
captain  had  ordered  all  the  boats  to  be  ready  at  sun 
rise  to  -search  for  us.  When  my  companion  got  on 
board  he  was  hardly  able  to  walk,  but  I  was  only  a 
little  stiff  the  next  morning.  The  natives  thought  we 
had  a  wonderful  escape,  for  the  bay  is  full  of  sharks. 


CENTRAL   AND  SOUTH  AMERICA     49 

During  the  months  spent  at  Aspinwall,  Per 
kins  saw  much  that  was  the  reverse  of  happiness ; 
he  was  especially  affected  by  the  death  of  the 
heroic  Lieutenant  Isaac  C.  Strain,  a  brilliant 
young  naval  officer  who  had  performed  distin 
guished  service  in  exploration  only  three  years 
before. 

With  twenty-six  companions  Lieutenant 
Strain  had  set  out  from  Caledonia  Bay  to  find 
the  supposedly  short  route  across  Darien  to  the 
Pacific,  which  according  to  two  or  three  pub 
lished  reports,  all  of  them  mendacious,  was  less 
than  thirty  miles  long,  and  gave  great  promise 
for  the  path  of  an  inter-ocean  canal.  The  party 
started  with  ten  days'  provisions.  They  soon 
became  aware,  from  the  unfriendly  manner  of 
the  natives  and  from  the  gross  inaccuracy  of  the 
maps  drawn  by  the  earlier  explorers,  that  they 
had  entered  upon  a  formidable  undertaking. 
For  nearly  two  months  Lieutenant  Strain  put 
forth  heroic  efforts  in  working  his  way  through 
trackless  forests  and  down  an  unnavigable  river. 
During  the  last  month,  daily  facing  starvation, 
he  had  pushed  on  with  three  companions  to 
reach  civilization  and  bring  succor  to  the  others, 
who  were  scarcely  able  to  move.  Their  ad- 


50        GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

ventures  make  a  thrilling  narrative  in  which  the 
splendid  courage  and  endurance  of  the  leader 
might  well  be  compared  with  that  of  La  Salle 
in  some  of  his  terrible  marches  in  the  North 
west.  Finally  Strain  emerged,  and  finding  a 
settlement,  almost  immediately  started  back 
with  a  rescue  party.  When  his  followers  were 
discovered,  five  had  already  succumbed  and 
others  died  shortly  afterwards.1 

In  a  letter  dated  May  17,  1857,  George  de 
scribes  this  leader's  end:  — 

Lieutenant  Strain  .  .  .  was  ordered  to  this  ship  and 
came  down  on  the  Illinois  to  join  us.  The  steamer 
arrived  in  the  afternoon,  but  he  did  not  come  directly 
on  board  ship  and  stopped  at  a  hotel  on  shore.  He  was 
almost  immediately  seized  with  the  fever  and  died 
that  very  night.  Only  twelve  hours  after  his  death  he 
was  buried.  Twenty  hours  before  his  burial  he  was 
talking  and  laughing.  He  was  buried  at  a  place  called 
Monkey  Hill,  among  negroes,  in  a  strange  land,  where 
there  was  no  one  who  cared  the  least  for  him.  His 
funeral  was  attended  by  a  few  officers  who  were 
strangers  to  him,  and  who  of  course  showed  but  little 
feeling.  Twelve  sailors  fired  a  volley  over  his  grave, 
and  three  negroes  covered  him  up.  Thus  ended  the 
days  of  one  of  our  distinguished  naval  officers.  ...  I 
wonder  what  they  would  do  with  me! 

1  The  story  of  the  expedition  is  told  by  J.  T.  Headley  in  Harp 
er9  s  Magazine,  1855. 


CENTRAL   AND  SOUTH  AMERICA     51 

The  events  on  the  Isthmus  that  attracted  the 
attention  of  the  whole  country  in  1856  and  1857 
were  those  particularly  connected  with  the  fili 
buster  General  William  Walker.  It  was  the  time 
when  the  mild,  "gray-eyed  man  of  destiny"  was 
attempting  to  establish  a  Napoleonic  empire  in 
Central  America,  the  beginning  of  which  he 
planted  in  Nicaragua.  The  unrest  that  followed 
was  one  of  the  reasons  why  the  Cyane  and  other 
United  States  ships  were  kept  in  Isthmian 
waters,  and  Perkins  had  a  close  view  at  least  of 
the  pitiable  conclusion. 

To  go  back  a  little,  it  happened  that  in  1854, 
when  Nicaragua  was  undergoing  one  of  its 
periodic  revolutions,  William  Walker,  a  doctor- 
lawyer-journalist  then  living  in  California,  had 
been  induced  to  organize  an  armed  force  and 
join  the  losing  side. 

In  the  first  skirmish,  occurring  in  June  of  the 
following  year,  his  Nicaraguan  allies  ran  away 
and  he  was  defeated.  In  the  second,  two  months 
later,  he  won  a  decisive  victory.  Seizing  one  of 
the  Accessory  Transit  Company's  steamers  he 
quickly  moved  up  Lake  Nicaragua  and  took  by 
surprise  the  capital,  Granada.  Peace  followed 
and  a  new  government  was  set  up,  in  which  a 


52        GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

Nicaraguan,  Rivas,  was  made  the  nominal  presi 
dent.  Walker,  who  was  appointed  commander- 
in-chief  of  the  army,  was  virtually  in  control. 
Recognizing,  however,  what  little  dependence 
he  could  place  on  the  Nicaraguans,  he  deter 
mined  to  introduce  thousands  of  Americans  from 
the  States  and  carry  out  his  ambitious  plans  of 
establishing  an  empire. 

For  some  months  Walker's  star  was  in  the  as 
cendant  and  everything  favored  him.  His  suc 
cess  was  in  large  degree  due  to  the  Accessory 
Transit  Company,  of  which  Cornelius  Vander- 
bilt  was  the  head.  Recruits,  mounting  to  thou 
sands,  were  sent  to  him,  either  at  reduced  rates 
or  with  free  transportation.  The  district  attor 
ney  of  New  York  protested,  but  as  the  filibusters 
were  styled  "emigrants"  and  were  carried  on 
the  same  ships  as  the  passengers  bound  for  Cali 
fornia,  his  objections  were  ineffectual. 

Early  in  his  rule,  Walker  had  acted  arbitrarily 
and  despotically.  The  other  countries  of  Central 
America  becoming  apprehensive  formed  a  coali 
tion  against  him  and  declared  war.  President 
Rivas  and  several  influential  Nicaraguans,  find 
ing  their  master  not  to  their  liking,  deserted. 
Walker,  not  at  all  daunted,  immediately  had 


CENTRAL  AND  SOUTH  AMERICA     53 

himself  elected  president  and  acted  only  the 
more  openly.  He  reestablished  the  institution 
of  African  slavery  and  expected  by  this  move  to 
gain  the  ardent  support  of  the  Southern  States. 
He  might,  indeed,  have  maintained  his  power 
for  many  years  had  he  not  made  the  great 
blunder  in  February,  1856,  of  breaking  with  the 
Accessory  Transit  Company.  Because  the  com 
pany  was  somewhat  slow  in  making  payments 
due  to  Nicaragua,  he  revoked  their  charter 
without  warning  and  seized  what  he  could  of 
their  property.  By  this  arbitrary  action  he  pre 
vented  further  recruits  or  supplies  from  reaching 
him,  while  the  Costa  Ricans,  heading  the  forces 
against  him,  received  small  and  large  arms  and 
even  some  leaders  from  the  Accessory  Transit 
Company.  Disease  and  discouragement,  fol 
lowed  by  death  or  defection,  now  thinned  his 
ranks.  Meanwhile  the  allies  were  constantly 
closing  in.  At  the  city  of  Rivas  on  the  Pacific 
Coast  he  made  his  final  stand,  and  the  barri 
cades  were  so  effectual  that  the  allies  could  not 
drive  him  out.  However,  his  affairs  were  hope 
less  and  his  followers  recognized  the  situation. 
Commander  C.  H.  Davis,  of  the  U.S.S.  St. 
Mary's,  then  came  to  their  relief  by  proposing 


54        GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

that  they  should  all  lay  down  their  arms  and 
return  to  the  United  States  by  way  of  Panama. 
After  a  little  hesitation,  on  May  I,  1857,  they 
accepted  the  offer.1 

Perkins  writes  of  General  Walker's  followers 
as  they  reached  Aspinwall,  "A  more  desperate 
set  I  never  saw";  and  again,  "A  great  many  of 
Walker's  men  came  in  here  on  the  English  ships 
and  they  were  in  the  most  miserable  condition; 
many  of  them  were  dying  with  smallpox  and 
yellow  fever."  In  June,  his  ship,  the  Cyane,  was 
sent  to  Greytown,  on  the  Atlantic  Coast,  to 
bring  back  some  of  the  filibusters  not  included  in 
the  earlier  negotiations.  He  writes :  — 

I  can  give  you  no  idea  of  the  sad  time  we  have  had. 
On  arriving  at  Greytown  we  found  about  120  officers 
and  soldiers  in  the  hands  of  the  Costa  Ricans.  Most  of 
them  were  in  a  horrible  condition;  many  of  them  were 
at  the  point  of  death;  some  were  covered  with  wounds, 
others  with  disgusting  sores,  and  all  were  lousy  and 
dirty.  We  took  them  all  on  board,  together  with 
several  of  the  officers'  wives  and  children,  the  latter 
affording  some  pleasure.  We  did  all  we  could  for  them, 
but  as  bad  weather  set  in  on  the  way  back  to  As 
pinwall  all  had  a  hard  time.  However,  only  two  died 
on  board.  Last  night  I  was  called  to  go  out  in  a  boat 

1  See  Scroggs,  "Walker  and  the  Steamship  Corporation,"  in 
American  Historical  Review,  vol.  x. 


CENTRAL  AND  SOUTH  AMERICA      55 

and  bury  a  man.  We  went  well  out  to  sea,  and  after 
I  had  read  a  short  prayer  the  sailors  threw  the  body 
over  the  side,  all  saying  together,  "God  bless  you," 
as  it  sank.  It  made  me  feel  pretty  sober.  I  read  the 
prayer  as  well  as  I  could,  but  never  having  turned  my 
attention  to  the  ministry  as  a  profession,  I  suppose  I 
did  not  do  my  part  in  what  was  just  the  right  manner. 

Shortly  after  this  the  Cyane  was  ordered  north 
and  proceeded  to  Boston,  carrying  fifty-three  of 
the  sick  and  wounded  filibusters.  While  still  in 
Central  America,  George  heard  that  his  sister 
Harriet 1  had  a  daughter.  On  the  reception  of 
this  news  he  wrote:  — 

I  thought  a  great  deal  last  night  about  the  new  baby, 
and  I  do  not  know  but  that  I  ought  to  write  a  special 
letter  on  her  account;  yet,  although  her  affectionate 
uncle  has  joyfully  assumed  his  heavy  responsibility, 
he  feels  he  is  not  great  at  composition.  The  only  thing 
I  could  think  of  doing  was  to  speak  for  the  under  jaw 
of  a  large  shark  which  they  are  now  cutting  up  on  deck 
as  a  present  for  my  niece.  I  am  sure  that  she  is  pretty, 
but  I  hardly  know  what  to  say  about  a  baby. 

As  the  Cyane  reached  Boston  George  was 
severely  disappointed  to  learn  that  her  stay 
would  be  short  and  that  he  should  not  be  able  to 
go  home.  Devotion  to  home  was  all  through  life 

1  Mrs.  William  L.  Foster,  who  lived  in  Concord,  New  Hamp 
shire. 


56        GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

one  of  his  most  marked  characteristics.  The  fol 
lowing  letter  shows  his  feeling  at  this  time :  — 

I  could  not  help  thinking,  as  I  walked  up  and  down 
on  the  morning  watch,  how  completely  I  have  given 
up  my  home,  and  how  little,  during  my  lifetime,  I 
shall  be  at  home  and  with  those  I  love  best.  Just 
think,  if  I  go  to  the  southward  again  I  shall  not  see 
you  for  a  year  more  at  least.  Then  seven  long  years 
will  have  passed  since  I  left  you -all,  and  how  little 
I  have  seen  of  you  in  that  time.  This  naval  life  is 
pleasant  enough  for  those  who  have  no  ties  to  bind 
them,  and  often  seems  agreeable  enough  to  me,  for 
I  have  many  good  friends  in  the  service,  and  we  are 
often  anchored  at  stations  where  I  am  able  to  see  a 
great  deal  and  to  enjoy  delightful  society.  But  yet  — 
I  wish  I  could  be  more  at  home;  and  sometimes  my 
only  comfort  and  only  cheerful  thought  is  the  know 
ledge  that  you  are  all  well  there. 

From  Boston  the  Cyane  went  to  St.  John's, 
Newfoundland,  and  to  Halifax;  then  to  Hamp 
ton  Roads,  Virginia;  and  late  in  the  fall  of  1857 
was  ordered  to  Cape  Haytien  to  inquire  into  the 
case  of  an  American  vessel  and  two  American 
seamen,  seized  upon  suspicion  by  the  Haytian 
Government.  Though  the  difficulty  had  been 
satisfactorily  settled  before  the  arrival  of  the 
Cyane,  she  remained  there  a  few  days  and  the 
officers  had  a  chance  to  see  the  island.  George 
writes :  — 


CENTRAL   AND  SOUTH  AMERICA      57 

We  all  went  on  shore,  for  the  place  is  really  worth 
seeing.  Cape  Haytien  was  built  and  owned  by  the 
French,  and  was  called  "Little  Paris."  In  1842  it 
was  shaken  down  by  an  earthquake,  and  20,000 
inhabitants  were  buried  beneath  the  ruins.  It  is 
beautifully  situated  on  a  level  plateau,  surrounded 
on  all  sides  by  lofty  hills,  except  where  it  faces  the 
bay.  The  streets  are  paved  and  regularly  laid  out, 
and  over  the  ruined  houses  on  each  side  beautiful 
vines  and  shrubbery  are  growing  luxuriantly,  and  it 
seemed  to  me  as  if  every  branch  was  covered  with 
beautiful,  bright-colored  birds,  which  sang  the 
sweetest  notes  I  ever  heard.  This  all  made  me  feel 
very  romantic  as  I  walked  about. 

There  must  have  once  been  much  wealth  here,  if 
one  may  judge  from  the  remains  of  some  of  the 
houses  that  show  a  good  deal  of  splendor.  About 
twelve  miles  from  the  city,  on  one  of  the  highest 
hills,  is  a  very  large  and  strong  castle  built  by  a  Count 
Christophe.  He  used  to  bury  there  every  year  a  large 
sum  of  money  which  he  took  from  the  revenues,  and 
then  he  would  shoot  the  negro  whom  he  made  bury 
it,  so  that  no  one  would  know  the  secret.  .  .  .  The 
negroes,  who  are  in  possession  of  the  island,  assume 
all  sorts  of  titles.  There  is  an  emperor,  and  there  are 
dukes,  lords,  etc.  Some  of  them  are  fairly  well  edu 
cated,  but  they  all  put  on  such  dignified  airs  and  are 
so  afraid  of  not  being  thought  equal  to  white  folks 
that  they  are  very  funny. 

In  January,  1858,  Perkins  was  detached  from 
the  Cyane  and  was  ordered  to  the  bark  Release, 
Commander  William  G.  Parker.  She  was  a 


58        GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

supply  ship  and  was  sent  first  to  the  Mediter 
ranean.  The  official  journal  kept  by  Perkins  in 
the  capacity  of  acting  master  is  not  remarkable 
either  as  literature,  or  history.  Still  the  plain 
matter-of  fact  chronicle  has  a  flavor  of  the  sea. 
The  following  are  extracts:  — 

January  27,  1858.  —  Charlestown  Navy  Yard. 
U.S.  Bark  Release  was  put  into  commission  at  I  P.M. 
Rec'd  from  the  U.S.  Ship  Ohio  a  draft  of  19  men. 

January  30.  —  At  9  A.M.  the  pilot  came  on  board 
and  at  II,  the  wind  being  fair,  left  the  wharf  and 
stood  down  the  harbor  under  jib  and  topgallant  sails. 
At  12  the  pilot  left.  At  I  took  the  departure,  Boston 
light  being  (per  compass)  W.N.W.;  dist.  7  miles. 
Unbent  chains  and  secured  the  anchors  for  sea.  Made 
and  reduced  sail  as  required. 

February  i.  —  During  the  day,  weather  very  cool, 
with  occasional  squalls  of  hail  and  snow;  crew  em 
ployed  in  breaking  the  ice  from  the  ropes  and  rails. 
Passed  a  school  of  porpoises  going  to  the  E d. 

February  2.  —  During  most  of  the  day  a  heavy 

gale  from  the  S d  and  E d.  At  4  P.M.  reduced 

sail  to  a  close-reefed  main  topsail,  foretopmast  stay 
sail  and  mizzen  staysail  and  lay  to,  wind  having  in 
creased  to  a  very  strong  gale;  the  ship  laboring  very 

much,  and  a  heavy  sea  from  S d.  At  1 1  carried 

away  and  lost  port  quarter  boat,  and  at  11.30  car 
ried  away  the  flying  jibboom. 

February  4.  —  Heavy  gale  from  N.W.  Ship  scud 
ding  under  close-reefed  main  topsail  and  foretopmast 
staysail.  Heavy  sea  and  decks  flooded  with  water. 


CENTRAL  AND  SOUTH  AMERICA      59 

February  5. — Heavy  gale  from  the  N.W.;  the 
captain  and  officers  finding  the  safety  of  the  ship  en 
dangered,  and  having  so  much  cargo  on  board,  con 
sidered  it  necessary  to  throw  the  guns  overboard, 
which  was  done,  the  decks  being  knee  deep  in  water 
and  the  ship  laboring  heavily. 

February  7.  —  Ship  scudding  before  the  wind  with 
a  close-reefed  main  topsail  and  foretopmast  staysail, 
a  tremendous  sea  after  us.  At  3.30  A.M.  stove  our 
starboard  quarter  boat.  Forecastle,  wardroom,  and 
cabin  filled  with  water,  the  men  not  having  a  dry  gar 
ment.  It  is  the  opinion  of  some  of  the  officers  that  we 
should  endeavor  to  reach  the  nearest  port,  and  de 
posit  part  of  our  cargo. 

February  8.  —  At  daylight  the  weather  moder 
ated,  made  sail  to  jib  and  topgallant  sails.  Aired 
bedding,  signals,  etc. 

February  9.  —  During  the  first  part  of  the  day 
pleasant  weather,  latter  part  squally  with  rain.  Saw 
several  sperm  whale  during  the  day.  ...  At  mid 
night  scudding  under  a  close-reefed  main  topsail  and 
foretopmast  staysail.  Decks  flooded  with  water.  A 
very  heavy  sea  running. 

February  n.  —  Threw  overboard  a  lot  of  con 
demned  beef  and  pork.  Made  and  reduced  sail  as 
required.  Decks  flooded  with  water.  Obliged  to  cut 
holes  in  the  bulwarks  to  let  the  water  out. 

February  14.  —  At  10  called  all  hands,  read  the 
"Articles  of  War"  and  mustered  the  crew.  Decks 
dry  and  the  weather  pleasant. 

February  21.  —  At  I  and  4  A.M.  got  casts  of  the 
land.  No  bottom  at  45  fathoms.  At  daylight  dis 
covered  land  ahead  and  on  both  bows.  At  8  A.M. 
Cape  Spartel  bore  (per  compass)  S.  by  E.J^E.;  Cape 


60        GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

Trafalgar  E.N.E.  Between  8  and  12  passed  through 
the  Straits  of  Gibraltar.  .  .  .  Several  sail  in  sight 
during  the  day  and  the  weather  pleasant.  Decks  per 
fectly  dry  for  the  first  time  since  leaving  Boston. 

February  23.  —  At  4  threw  overboard  a  bottle  con 
taining  the  ship's  reckoning,  and  with  the  usual 
request  to  whoever  shall  pick  it  up  to  forward  the 
same  to  Commander,  U.S.  Navy,  U.S.  Naval  Ob 
servatory,  Washington,  D.C. 

March  5.  —  At  daylight  discovered  land  bearing 
E.N.E.  Made  all  sail  and  commenced  beating  up 
to  the  mouth  of  the  Bay  of  Spezia.  .  .  .  At  8  came 
into  the  port  and  came  to  anchor  in  8  fathoms  of 
water. 

March  6.  —  At  10  A.M.  were  boarded  by  the 
Pratique  officer,  and  put  in  quarantine,  hoisted  the 
quarantine  flag  at  the  fore. 

March  9.  —  Employed  during  the  day  discharging 
cargo.  The  U.S.  Consul  visited  the  ship. 

While  the  Release  was  making  a  short  stay  in 
Spezia,  Perkins  took  the  opportunity  to  visit  a 
few  of  the  most  celebrated  Italian  cities.  In 
writing  to  the  home  people  he  modestly  deplores 
his  inability  to  appreciate  as  he  ought  the  great 
art  he  is  in  the  midst  of,  and  regrets  that  other 
members  of  the  family  could  not  be  there  with 
him.  He  further  shows  his  thought  of  them  by 
drawing  on  his  meager  midshipman's  salary  to 
purchase  for  each  pretty  and  tasteful  gifts. 

It  is  almost  remarkable  that  repeated  absence 


CENTRAL  AND   SOUTH  AMERICA     61 

for  long  periods  of  time  had  no  effect  in  making 
George  forget  his  home.  Rarely  did  he  send  a 
letter  which  had  not  a  volley  of  questions  about 
the  various  members  of  the  household  (includ 
ing  the  horses,  dogs,  and  other  pets).  A  growing 
sense  of  responsibility  frequently  appears  in  the 
letters  of  this  time.  As  the  oldest  son,  he  knows 
his  words  may  have  some  influence;  and  in  an 
affectionate  letter  to  Roger,  the  brother  nearest 
him  in  age,  he  warns  him  as  he  was  about  to  go 
to  Cincinnati  against  smoking  and  drinking.  He 
admits  that  his  own  record  has  not  been  alto 
gether  spotless  and  that  Roger  may  seemingly 
have  some  ground  for  resenting  the  cautions. 
Still  he  maintains  that  the  advice  is  correct,  and 
adds,  "I  am  a  little  older  and  perhaps  have  seen 
more  of  the  world  and  the  evil  consequences  of 
drinking."  And  again:  "As  sure  as  a  young  man 
drinks  rum,  just  so  sure  will  he  go  to  the  devil." 
If  this  sounds  somewhat  like  a  hackneyed  tem 
perance  address,  it  should  be  noted  that  George 
Perkins,  although  young,  had  already  seen 
several  promising  young  officers  ruined  by  exces 
sive  drinking. 

With  a  similar  sense  of  responsibility  but  in  a 
milder  mood  he  writes  to  Hammie  who  was  ten 


62        GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

years  old:  "You  must  study  hard  and  mind  your 
mother.  Write  often  to  me  and  be  a  good  boy." 

It  may  not  be  amiss  here  to  make  a  brief  state 
ment  in  regard  to  Perkins's  attitude  towards 
religion.  The  family  were  connected  with  the 
Episcopal  Church.  George  frequently  attended 
church,  but  never  made  any  public  profession. 
He  was  always  reverent;  and  though  it  was  for 
eign  to  his  happy  effervescing  nature  "to  talk 
religion,"  his  letters  show  that  occasionally  he 
had  times  of  deep  seriousness.  Religion  for  him 
was  invariably  associated  with  tender,  unselfish 
thought  for  those  that  were  dear  to  him.  There 
is  something  thoroughly  boyish  and  lovable  in 
the  request  made  to  his  mother  when  the  Release 
was  about  to  leave  for  South  America,  October, 
1858:  "Be  sure  and  send  me  my  Bible,  for  I 
think  I  ought  to  have  something  from  you,  and 
what  could  be  better?  —  also  your  daguerotype 
—  I  do  not  know  how  to  spell  it  —  and  Susy's." 
Two  weeks  later  it  is  evident  at  least  part  of  his 
request  has  been  honored.  He  writes,  "  I  received 
the  Bible;  it  is  a  very  pretty  Bible  and  I  am  very 
glad  to  get  it." 

On  the  return  of  the  Release  from  the  Medi 
terranean  she  was  ordered  to  New  York  to  fit  out 


CENTRAL  AND  SOUTH  AMERICA     63 

and  make  ready  to  join  the  fleet  about  to  be  sent 
to  Paraguay.  Since  1853  trouble  had  been  brew 
ing  with  this  country.  Its  previous  policy  had 
been  to  exclude  all  foreigners.  Under  President 
Lopez  some  Americans  had  been  admitted,  but 
had  been  subjected  to  harsh  restrictions.  In 
1855,  the  Water  Witch,  a  United  States  steamer 
making  a  survey  of  the  Parana  River  for  pur 
poses  of  navigation,  was  fired  upon,  and  the  man 
at  the  helm  was  killed.  President  Buchanan  in 
1858  recommended  to  Congress  that  the  United 
States  should  demand  redress.  In  accordance 
with  his  plan,  Congress  sent  the  Hon.  James  B. 
Bowlin  as  commissioner,  backed  by  a  fleet  of 
nineteen  armed  vessels  under  Commodore 
Shubrick.  The  Release  was  ordered  as  storeship 
for  the  expedition;  she  was  also  to  ascend  the 
rivers  where  vessels  of  heavier  draft  could  not  go. 
Perkins's  letters  tell  of  his  experiences  during 
the  expedition. 

NEW  YORK,  U.S.S.  Release, 
Nov.  i,  1858. 

We  are  about  to  haul  out  into  the  stream,  and  very 
soon  all  communication  with  the  shore  will  be  broken 
off  and  sea  life  will  begin  in  its  reality.  If  we  have 
good  luck,  we  shall  get  to  Buenos  Ayres  in  forty-five 
days.  Forty-five  days,  just  looking  at  the  horizon! 


64        GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

But  still,  if  I  receive  letters  from  you  when  I  get  to 
Montevideo  and  you  are  well,  it  will  be  better  to  me 
than  seeing  the  land.  But,  oh,  mother,  I  cannot  help 
wishing  that  I  could  stay  at  home;  indeed,  that  we 
could  all  live  always  at  home.  Yet  I  know  we  ought 
to  be  satisfied;  for  so  far  our  home  is  such  a  good  one. 

To  his  sister  Susan  he  sends  the  following:  — 

When  you  write,  tell  me  every  little  thing  —  how 
you  passed  Thanksgiving  especially.  It  is  now  the 
eighth  Thanksgiving  since  I  have  been  at  home. 
How  time  flies,  and  we  are  all  growing  old  fast!  I  be 
lieve  that  mother  and  father  are  now  younger  than 
any  of  us,  and  it  is  such  a  comfort  to  me  to  go  from 
home  leaving  you  all  so  well.  Be  sure  and  write  me  all 
about  Hattie's  baby.  I  should  like  to  keep  on  writing 
and  writing,  for  this  letter  seems  a  connecting  link 
with  you  and  I  hate  to  break  it.  I  enclose  my  ap 
pointment  as  acting  master;  please  put  it  with  my 
other  papers. 

Instead  of  the  forty-five  days  reckoned  on,  it 
took  sixty-three  for  the  Release  to  reach  Monte 
video.  Perkins  writes  at  sea :  — 

We  had  no  pleasant  weather  until  we  were  well 
south.  Then  it  came  on  calm,  and  since  that  time  we 
have  made  but  little  progress;  indeed,  for  a  week  we 
have  almost  lain  still,  and  the  captain  and  all  hands 
begin  to  think  the  old  ship  is  bewitched.  I  remained 
upon  deck  to-night  when  the  other  officers  went  to  the 
cabin,  because  it  is  one  of  those  beautiful  evenings  at 
sea  from  which  I  cannot  take  my  eyes;  but  no  sooner 


CENTRAL  AND  SOUTH  AMERICA     65 

was  I  alone  than  I  began  to  think  of  you  all.  We  get 
on  finely  together  on  board  this  ship,  which  is  lucky, 
as  we  have  such  a  long  passage.  A  sailor  is  singing  to 
a  doleful  tune  something  about  a  fair  lass  he  left  be 
hind  him.  We  occasionally  see  a  sail  on  the  horizon, 
and  that  is  our  greatest  excitement,  but  we  have  not 
yet  spoken  any  ship. 

Later  he  writes :  — 

We  have  passed  through  the  trade-winds  and  are 
now  in  the  doldrums,  and  expect  the  S.E.  trades  to 
morrow.  It  is  very  warm.  I  have  been  trying  to 
catch  a  shark  that  has  been  playing  about  the  ship 
for  some  time.  We  catch  a  good  many  flying  fish  and 
find  them  very  good  eating. 

The  Release  arrived  at  Montevideo  on  Janu 
ary  2,  1859.  There  followed  several  days  of 
pleasure-seeking,  for  as  the  fleet  assembled  the 
city  put  on  an  appearance  of  great  animation. 
The  Spanish  customs  were  novel,  and  Perkins 
went  with  the  others  to  see  a  bull-fight.  Three 
horses  and  five  bulls  were  killed,  but  the  sport 
was  not  exactly  to  his  liking. 

Commissioner  Bowlin  and  Commodore  Shu- 
brick  now  proceeded  up  the  rivers  to  Asun 
cion  in  the  Fulton,  accompanied  by  the  Water 
Witch.  The  other  vessels  rendezvoused  in  the 
Parana  near  Rosario,  where  they  could  quickly 


66        GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

act   in  case  they  should  be  needed.    Perkins 
writes :  — 

The  difficulty  will  probably  be  settled  without 
fighting,  though  Lopez  has  a  large  army  and  fine 
forts,  and  is  well  prepared  to  receive  us.  If  we  get 
into  a  row,  it  may  go  rather  hard  with  the  Release  at 
first,  for  she  is  a  small  vessel  and  would  be  sent  up  the 
river  where  the  others  cannot  go.  I  shall  probably  be 
in  it,  and  the  prospect  pleases  me,  on  the  whole,  now 
that  I  am  here. 

The  lower  classes,  whom  we  saw  as  we  came  up 
through  the  country,  seem  to  be  almost  in  a  wild 
state  and  the  little  huts  they  live  in  are  wretched. 
But  they  are  all  "beggars  on  horseback"  and  ride  so 
much  that  they  can  hardly  walk.  Horses  are  indeed 
plentiful.  In  the  towns  the  business  is  carried  on 
chiefly  by  English  and  Germans.  There  is  always  a 
plaza  in  the  towns,  where  the  band  plays  evenings 
and  where  the  ladies  appear  dressed  in  the  latest 
fashions,  except  that  they  wear  mantillas  instead  of 
bonnets.  Game  is  plentiful,  and  I  have  fine  times 
hunting,  especially  the  large  game  of  the  pampas, 
which  is  really  exciting.  I  am  anxious  to  shoot  a 
South  American  tiger. 

Commissioner  Bowlin  and  Commodore  Shu- 
brick  left  Asuncion  on  February  10,  having  been 
there  since  the  25th  of  the  preceding  month, 
during  which  they  secured  all  they  had  sought. 
Paraguay  made  ample  apologies,  paid  $10,000 
for  the  family  of  the  American  seaman  killed  on 


CENTRAL  AND  SOUTH  AMERICA     67 

the   Water   Witch,   and  concluded  satisfactory 
commercial  treaties. 
Perkins  writes :  — 

Our  fleet  is  now  coming  down  the  river,  for  our  dif 
ficulties  with  the  Paraguayan  Government  are  set 
tled,  We  are  taking  it  leisurely  and  I  am  enjoying 
myself  very  much.  I  go  hunting  and  fishing  every 
day.  I  never  saw  so  much  game.  The  trees  are  full  of 
all  sorts  of  birds,  and  fish  are  equally  plentiful  in  the 
water.  There  are  also  ducks,  swans,  monkeys,  and 
snakes,  as  well  as  everything  else  that  flies  or  crawls 
or  swims  that  I  ever  heard  of.  And  besides  there  is 
large  game  to  make  it  exciting. 

The  river  is  high  now,  and  the  country  is  so  inun 
dated  that  I  can  penetrate  far  into  the  forest  in  a  boat. 
I  go  every  day,  but  don't  get  a  chance  at  a  tiger.  I 
often  think  I  am  on  the  track  of  one,  but  my  tigers 
generally  turn  out  to  be  river  hogs.  The  latter  are 
curious  creatures;  the  Spanish  call  them  capinchas.  I 
don't  know  what  they  are  like.  Their  heads  look  like 
that  of  a  woodchuck,  only  a  great  deal  larger,  for 
some  of  them  weigh  400  pounds.  The  flesh  of  the 
young  ones  is  good  eating.  They  live  in  what  resem 
bles  a  huge  nest,  half  in  and  half  out  of  the  water. 
The  other  day  I  destroyed  the  peace  of  one  of  their 
families  by  killing  the  mother  of  some  young  ones. 
The  old  father,  which  had  savage-looking  tusks,  came 
for  me  in  an  awful  rage.  I  ran  to  the  boat  for  my 
life,  and  consider  that  I  was  lucky  to  have  escaped 
him. 

All  along  the  river  are  villages,  consisting  of  clus 
ters  of  straw  huts.  In  the  evening,  taking  our  pilot, 


68        GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

who  plays  the  guitar,  I  go  ashore  and  have  a  dance 
with  some  of  the  pretty  native  girls.  There  is  a  dance 
called  the  samaquaker  (I  don't  know  if  that  is  spelled 
right,  but  that  is  the  way  it  sounds),  which  is  a  very 
pretty  native  dance. 

And  again  shortly  afterwards  he  writes :  — 

I  had  an  adventure  to-day,  and  almost  got  my 
tiger,  but  missed  it  just  enough  to  get  a  good  joke  on 
myself.  I  had  gone  in  a  boat  up  a  lagoon  to  hunt  and 
fish,  and  coming  to  a  little  stream  left  the  boat  and 
giving  instructions  that  the  boat  should  follow  me 
hunted  on  shore.  As  I  came  to  a  place  where  a  log 
was  thrown  across  a  stream,  I  went  over  it.  After  I 
had  crossed  I  heard  a  noise  behind  me,  and  looking 
back  I  saw  a  large  tiger  crossing  on  the  log  and  appar 
ently  on  my  trail.  As  I  had  nothing  with  me  but  a 
shotgun,  loaded  for  birds,  it  was  no  use  to  think  of 
attacking  him,  and  I  made  the  best  time  I  could  back 
to  the  boat.  He  did  not  pursue  me,  but  crawled  in  the 
tall  grass  close  by  the  water's  edge  where  the  stream 
was  narrow,  and  we  were  obliged  to  pass  him  rowing 
down.  I  could  see  by  the  motion  of  the  tall  jungle 
grass  that  he  was  lashing  his  tail,  and  as  we  drew  near 
I  could  hear  him  snarl.  I  can  tell  you  the  boat  shot  by 
that  place  like  an  arrow.  I  went  back  to  the  ship  as 
quick  as  I  co.uld,  and  taking  an  officer  with  me  and 
proper  firearms  to  attack  such  game,  rowed  to  the 
place  where  I  had  left  the  tiger.  We  rowed  up  cau 
tiously,  for  I  did  not  want  to  miss  fire,  knowing  I  had 
an  ugly  customer  to  deal  with.  At  last,  I  could  see  two 
bright  eyes  peering  at  me  through  the  grass  —  I  was 
sure  that  it  was  he.  I  took  aim  and  fired  —  the  eyes 


CENTRAL  AND  SOUTH  AMERICA     69 

disappeared,  and  there  was  a  short  struggle  under  the 
grass  and  bushes.  I  waited  till  all  was  quiet,  and  then 
ventured  towards  the  spot  very  carefully.  I  was 
much  elated  at  the  thought  that  finally  I  had  got  a 
tiger,  but  what  I  found  stretched  out  at  full  length 
was  an  immense  river  hog.  Well,  we  had  a  good 
laugh  about  it.  But  those  river  hogs  had  cheated  me 
so  often  when  I  had  been  after  a  tiger  that  I  was 
really  pretty  mad. 

A  letter  written  four  days  later  gives  a  proper 
conclusion  to  his  hunting  adventures :  — 

At  last  I  have  killed  my  tiger,  and  in  the  most 
unexpected  way.  I  did  not  have  to  go  beating  about 
the  jungle,  or  look  for  one  at  the  water's  edge  at  night, 
or  anything  like  that.  To-day,  as  we  were  anchored 
near  the  bank,  three  tigers  plunged  in  the  river  right 
ahead  of  the  ship.  In  no  time,  I  got  out  a  boat,  and 
was  on  the  river  pulling  after  them.  The  current 
drew  them  towards  us,  and  one  of  them  turned  and 
made  for  the  boat.  His  ears  were  curled  back,  his 
jaws  were  wide  open,  and  the  beast  which  was  snarling 
looked  terribly  fierce  and  angry.  I  was  so  afraid  of 
not  hitting  him  that  I  waited  before  firing  till  he  was 
close  on  the  boat  and  the  men  cried  out  ...  for  they 
said  afterwards  that  he  was  so  near  that  if  I  had 
missed  or  he  had  been  only  wounded,  we  should  have 
been  done  for.  But  the  ball  struck  him  fair,  and  in  an 
instant  he  turned  over  dead.  The  current  swept  him 
off  and  directly  he  sank  out  of  sight.  At  the  noise  of 
the  report  the  other  tigers  swerved  aside  and  went 
down  stream.  I  was  sorry  that  I  had  lost  him  for  I 
wanted  his  skin;  but  it  is  a  comfort  to  think  I  did 


70        GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

shoot  a  tiger  at  last,  and  as  it  was  in  full  view  of  the 
ship,  I  shall  not  lack  proof. 

A  month  later  (March,  1859),  Perkins  with 
several  of  his  classmates  was  transferred  to  the 
frigate  Sabine  and  ordered  home  to  take  the  ex 
aminations  for  promotion  to  the  grade  of  passed 
midshipman.  Letters  from  Captain  Robb  of  the 
Cyane,  Captain  Parker  of  the  Release,  and  Cap 
tain  Adams  of  the  Sabine,  all  speak  of  the  envi 
able  record  Perkins  had  made  on  those  ships; 
both  in  efficiency  as  a  watch  officer  and  acting 
master,  and  in  conduct  —  for  he  had  shown  not 
only  that  he  could  command  others,  but  that 
he  could  keep  his  own  youthful,  impulsive  self 
under  discipline. 


CHAPTER  IV 

ON   THE   WEST   AFRICAN    COAST 

EXAMINATIONS  for  George  Perkins,  after 
the  maturing  influence  of  sea  duty,  had 
lost  their  old-time  formidable  character,  and  he 
passed  those  awaiting  him  on  his  return  from 
South  America  without  difficulty.  He  was  thus, 
in  April,  1859,  promoted  to  the  grade  of  passed 
midshipman,  and  in  the  September  following  he 
was  advanced  to  "master  in  the  line  of  promo 
tion,"  a  grade  corresponding  with  that  of  junior 
lieutenant  in  the  naval  organization  of  to-day. 
After  his  return  Perkins  had  a  leave  of  ab 
sence  with  three  months  at  home.  His  was  an 
unusually  happy  home,  where  with  the  culture 
characteristic  of  the  best  of  New  England,  there 
was  warmth  and  affection.  It  was  becoming  evi 
dent  to  the  judge  that  there  was  reason  for  tak 
ing  pride  in  his  son;  the  younger  brothers, 
Roger,  Hamilton,  and  Frank,  looked  up  to  him 
as  a  hero,  and  did  not  lose  this  pleasant  delusion 
when  he  joined  enthusiastically  in  their  sports; 
while  the  mother  and  the  sisters,  Harriet  and 
Susan,  regarded  him  ever  with  exquisite  tender- 


72        GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

ness.  The  sisters  had  their  social  circle  and  made 
it  easy  for  him  to  join  in  the  gayety  of  Concord 
and  vicinity.  George  always  enjoyed  society  and 
needed  but  the  slightest  introduction  to  make 
many  friends  among  the  young  ladies.  He  was 
bright,  happy,  and  warm-hearted  —  qualities 
which  are  sure  to  make  one  a  favorite. 

The  grant  of  absence  passed  quickly,  and  all 
too  soon,  on  August  2,  1859,  came  the  orders, 
"Proceed  to  New  York  without  delay  and  re 
port  to  Commodore  Breese  for  duty  on  the  U.S. 
Steamer  Sumter  to  perform  the  duties  of  acting 
master."  The  Sumter  was  to  go  to  the  dreaded 
West  African  coast  to  assist  in  the  suppression  of 
the  slave  trade. 

Although  the  United  States  had  been  the  na 
tion  to  found  Liberia,  the  state  for  freed  negroes, 
the  Government  had  shown  gross  negligence  in 
enforcing  the  laws  against  the  slave  trade.  From 
1808,  when  the  importation  of  slaves  became 
illegal,  till  1842,  this  country  did  practically  no 
thing  to  suppress  it;  for  the  next  seventeen  or 
eighteen  years,  although  American  ships  of  war 
were  sent  regularly  to  the  African  coast,  the 
perfunctory  efforts  accomplished  but  little.  On 
the  other  hand,  Great  Britain  and  other  Euro- 


ON  THE  WEST  AFRICAN  COAST      73 

pean  countries  had  exhibited  considerable  vigi 
lance  in  seizing  vessels  of  their  respective  nations 
engaged  in  the  nefarious  business. 

The  decade  following  1850  saw  a  great  in 
crease  in  the  slave  trade.  According  to  Stephen 
A.  Douglas,  more  slaves  were  imported  in  1859 
than  in  any  year  previous,  not  excluding  the 
time  when  the  traffic  was  legal;  he  estimated  the 
number  to  be  not  less  than  15,00x3.  The  increase 
was  because  of  the  unprecedented  demand  for 
negro  labor.  Southerners  wanted  to  develop 
their  large  holdings.  Slaves  had  been  steadily 
rising  in  value,  and  on  account  of  the  high 
mortality  and  the  greater  number  of  men  than 
women,  the  death-rate  had  actually  exceeded 
the  birth-rate.  The  States  in  the  extreme  South 
recognized  that  slaveocracy  was  doomed  unless 
they  could  reverse  these  conditions;  and  thus, 
from  1856  until  the  Civil  War,  the  more  radical 
Southerners,  through  commercial  conventions 
and  other  means,  labored  for  the  repeal  of  the 
laws  making  the  importation  of  slaves  illegal. 

It  is  therefore  not  strange  that  slaves  were 
successfully  smuggled  into  Georgia,  Florida,  and 
Texas,  and  that  the  Government  was  apathetic 
in  punishing  the  few  slavers  who  were  caught. 


74        GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

Most  of  the  naval  officers  ordered  to  the  African 
coast,  well  aware  of  the  sentiment  in  Washing 
ton,  were  not  over-zealous  in  the  patrol  duty  and 
would  send  in  a  prize  only  when  the  proofs  were 
scarcely  less  than  absolute.  Even  in  these  few 
cases,  the  offending  captains  and  their  ships 
were  released  on  bond,  and  the  trials  were  long 
postponed.  Whenever  a  man  was  convicted, 
the  Executive  found  some  reason  for  not  carry 
ing  out  the  sentence.  It  was  not  until  Lincoln 
was  inaugurated  that  uncompromising  suppres 
sion  of  the  slave  trade  began  and  that  an  of 
fender  suffered  the  full  penalty  —  hanging. 

Meanwhile,  during  the  fifties,  since  the  United 
States  often  embarrassed  the  American  offenders 
and  Great  Britain  vigorously  prosecuted  all 
those  flying  her  flag,  the  misery  attending  the 
slave  traffic  became  intensified.  Traders  could  not 
afford  to  wait  for  a  favorable  tide  or  calm,  but, 
when  a  speck  appeared  on  the  horizon  suspected 
to  be  the  sail  of  a  man-of-war,  would  crowd  the 
negroes  into  canoes  and  proceed  to  loading. 
When  the  canoes  were  caught  in  the  surf,  some 
of  the  blacks  were  drowned  and  others  were  de 
voured  by  sharks.  This  meant  a  money  loss,  but 
the  shipmaster  could  afford  it  if  he  secured  a 


ON  THE  WEST  AFRICAN  COAST      75 

moderate-sized  cargo  and  succeeded  in  escaping. 
That  the  slaves  might  be  shipped  at  an  hour's 
notice  they  were  herded  together  in  barracoons 
at  various  points  on  the  shore.  Smallpox  and 
contagious  fevers  frequently  broke  out;  where 
upon  the  sick  would  often  be  poisoned,  drowned, 
or  shot,  that  the  epidemic  might  be  checked. 
Troubles  as  bad  or  worse  followed  when  the  ne 
groes  were  crowded  between  decks  on  ships, 
where  death  from  the  exhaustion  of  fresh  water, 
as  well  as  from  epidemics,  frequently  occurred. 
To  maintain  the  supply  of  slaves  on  the  coast, 
to  be  traded  for  and  shipped,  the  fiercer  tribes 
kept  up  a  constant  warfare;  they  made  frequent 
raids,  destroying  villages  and  bringing  back  hun 
dreds  of  men,  women,  and  children.  In  exchange 
for  the  slaves,  they  received  guns,  merchandise 
of  various  kinds,  and  cheap  rum.  The  last  de 
moralized  the  whole  coast,  and  to  the  blacks  of 
all  kinds  was  irresistible.1 

Although  President  Buchanan's  administra 
tion,  like  the  preceding  ones,  was  remiss  in  deal 
ing  with  this  problem,  Congress  had  become 
aroused  by  the  cruelties  and  gross  violations  of 

1  See  W.  E.  B.  Du  Bois,  Suppression  of  Slavery,  pp.  173-91; 
also  H.  H.  Johnston,  Liberia,  vol.  i,  pp.  161-76. 


76        GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

law  reported,  and  required  that  a  more  vigorous 
policy  be  instituted.  In  1859,  in  place  of  three  or 
four  heavy  frigates,  ill  adapted  for  the  service,  sev 
eral  small  steamers  were  sent.  Among  these  was 
the  Sumter,  with  George  Perkins  as  acting  master. 
The  following  letters  were  written  from  New 
York  the  last  of  August,  shortly  before  the  ship 
sailed:  — 

The  captain  tells  us  we  are  to  have  a  pretty  hard 
cruise;  that  he  has  strict  orders  to  confine  it  to  the 
American  cruising  ground  on  the  West  African  coast, 
and  that  we  cannot  stop  at  Madeira  at  all. 

We  have  one  officer,  a  lieutenant,  who  is  known 
throughout  the  service  as  "Little  Jack  Stewart,"  and 
who  is  so  funny  that  he  keeps  us  in  roars  of  laughter 
whenever  he  is  on  board.  He  will  be  a  great  help  in 
keeping  up  our  spirits,  for  the  African  coast  is  said 
to  be  trying,  and  will  bring  out  all  our  characters. 

As  I  am  master  I  have  a  great  deal  to  do,  and  to 
day  I  have  been  busy  all  the  time  getting  in  stores. 
When  I  have  been  ashore  in  New  York  I  have  met  a 
good  many  friends,  and  no  doubt  might  have  had  a 
very  gay  time,  but  I  have  wanted  nothing  except  to 
go  home,  or  to  see  some  one  from  home;  and  now  that 
I  can  do  neither  I  wish  I  were  at  sea,  for  the  quicker  I 
go  the  quicker  I  shall  come  back.  We  are  in  three 
watches,  which  is  harder  than  I  expected.  The  ar 
rangements  for  comfort  on  the  Sumter  are  not  very 
complete.  The  ship  is  180  feet  long,  carries  six  guns, 
and  can  steam  ten  knots  an  hour.  She  is  not  much  on 
beauty,  and  rather  a  mean  old  tub,  take  it  all  round. 


ON  THE  WEST  AFRICAN  COAST      77 

George's  increased  years  did  not  make  the 
affectionate  boy  as  yet  immune  from  an  old- 
time  malady,  and  he  writes  to  his  sister  Hat- 
tie  :- 

I  have  been  awfully  homesick,  and  I  expect  my 
troubles  are  yet  to  come,  for  just  as  soon  as  I  am  left 
alone,  I  know  I  shall  be  mighty  blue.  I  have  the  mid- 
watch  to-night,  and  you  can  bet  that  I  shall  be  think 
ing  of  you  during  all  my  lonely  watch. 

Two  days  before  sailing  (September  2)  he 
writes :  — 

We  have  had  full  dress  muster  this  afternoon  and 
I  made  my  first  appearance  in  epaulettes  and  cocked 
hat.  I  have  no  doubt  I  was  a  glorious  sight. 

Captain  Armstrong  is  very  pleasant  and  kind  to 
me.  As  these  are  the  last  days  before  the  ship  sails, 
his  wife  stays  on  board  a  good  deal,  and  she  feels 
badly  about  his  going  away.  She  was  talking  with  me 
this  afternoon  and  said  that  she  could  not  realize  that 
her  husband  was  going  away  for  so  long  a  while. 
They  have  been  married  eighteen  months  and  this 
will  be  the  first  separation.  I  often  see  her  in  the 
cabin  in  tears,  and  I  feel  very  sorry  for  her.  And  this, 
as  I  then  think,  is  what  it  is  to  be  a  captain's  wife. 

The  West  African  coast  was  considered  the 
least  desirable  of  the  American  naval  stations. 
The  vast  stretch  of  territory  patrolled  by  our 
ships  extended  from  Liberia  to  St.  Paul  de 


78        GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

Loanda,  or  from  about  ten  degrees  north  of  the 
equator  to  ten  degrees  south.  The  weather  here 
was  hot  and  wet  nearly  all  the  year  round.  The 
coast  was  low,  and  dangerous  to  the  white  man 
because  of  muddy  creeks  and  inlets,  putrid 
swamps,  and  mangrove  jungles  that  surrounded 
the  rivers.  Few  were  the  officers  who  served 
on  this  coast  without  suffering  from  fever,  and 
rarely  did  a  ship  make  a  prolonged  stay  without 
some  deaths.  This  dismal  coast  had  not  a  single 
good  harbor,  and  no  towns  that  could  be  con 
sidered  as  really  within  the  pale  of  civilization. 
Consequently  a  two  years'  cruise  here  meant  a 
period  of  deadly  monotony.  Yet  George  Perkins 
succeeded  in  surviving  all  the  perils,  and  with 
his  happy,  active  disposition  found  occasional 
pleasure  as  well  as  many  an  adventure. 

His  first  letter  after  the  ship  had  arrived  on 
her  station  was  written  from  Monrovia,  Liberia, 
October  12,  1859:  — 

We  came  here  to  ship  some  Kroomen  and  take  in 
water  before  proceeding  down  the  coast.  Monrovia 
is  merely  a  collection  of  negro  huts,  but  it  is  one  of  the 
principal  missionary  settlements  on  this  coast,  and 
one  where  slavers  are  not  allowed  to  trade.  A  short 
time  ago  a  vessel  came  here  from  New  Orleans  loaded 
with  negro  emigrants.  After  landing  them  here  she 


ON  THE  WEST  AFRICAN  COAST      79 

then  proceeded  down  the  coast;  there  she  shipped 
500  wild  negroes,  carried  them  across  the  ocean  and 
sold  them  in  the  States.  .  .  .  The  natives  look  very 
singular,  and  I  have  many  a  good  laugh  while  observ 
ing  them. 

November  I,  1859. 

We  are  now  at  Fernando  Po,  and  are  here  to  gain 
what  knowledge  we  can  of  its  facilities  for  a  coal 
depot.  It  is  an  island  close  to  the  coast  and  belongs 
to  Spain.  The  Spaniards  are  trying  to  establish  a 
colony  here,  but  it  is  too  unhealthy,  and  the  whites 
will  not  live  long  enough  to  get  acclimated.  The  na 
tives  are  wild  and  warlike.  They  inhabit  the  moun 
tains,  and  subsist  chiefly  on  wild  fruits.  They  will  not 
work  for  love  or  money. 

At  present  there  are  several  Spanish,  French,  and 
English  men-of-war  here,  and  a  week  ago  one  of  the 
English  ships  captured  an  American  slaver  with  500 
negroes  on  board.  The  English  make  a  good  many 
captures,  as  their  Government  sustains  the  efforts  to 
put  down  the  slave  trade  better  than  ours. 

I  have  suffered  a  good  deal  from  a  tarantula  bite  on 
my  hand,  which  swelled  so  badly  that  I  was  alarmed, 
but  it  is  getting  well  now.  .  .  .  The  prospect  for  our 
cruise  is  that  it  will  be  very  tiresome  and  have  little 
variety.  At  our  stations  there  are  to  be  found  only  a 
few  white  people  scattered  among  a  lot  of  negroes. 
Last  Saturday  I  dined  with  the  Spanish  governor  of 
Fernando  Po,  who  has  succeeded  in  living  here 
thirty-three  years.  He  has  a  black  wife  and  a  family 
of  black  children.  We  did  not  see  his  wife,  but  he 
gave  us  a  fine  dinner,  and  we  passed  a  pleasant  day. 

We  are  going  from  here  to  the  Congo  River,  and  I 


8o        GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

have  great  hopes  that  we  shall  capture  one  or  two 
prizes.  That  will  be  some  compensation  for  being  on 
this  station. 

What  a  happy  time  I  had  at  home  those  last  three 
months!  I  am  constantly  recalling  it  and  wishing 
those  days  would  come  back  again. 

November  29,  1859. 

The  captain  and  I  took  breakfast  a  few  mornings 
ago  with  King  Te,  a  celebrated  old  negro  on  this  part 
of  the  coast.  The  breakfast  was  served  up  in  great 
style,  for  he  is  rich,  having  made  a  great  deal  of 
money  in  the  slave-trade.  The  occasion  was  thor 
oughly  novel,  but  I  found  it  difficult  to  swallow  some 
of  the  food. 

Speaking  of  one  feast  reminds  me  of  another.  I  for 
got  to  tell  you  about  the  way  we  kept  Thanksgiving. 
The  commodore  fixed  it  for  the  fleet  on  November 
24.  On  that  day  we  were  off  Lagos,  a  noted  slave- 
station.  It  was  very  hot,  and  every  one  of  our  sur 
roundings  was  as  different  from  New  England  as  was 
possible.  We  had  a  big  dinner,  though,  and  did  our 
best  to  celebrate. 

The  king  of  the  Dahomeys,  which  is  a  warlike 
tribe  on  the  coast,  supplies  most  of  the  slave  traders 
by  selling  them  his  prisoners  of  war.  He  is  very 
angry  that  so  many  vessels  should  be  sent  to  stop  the 
traffic.  During  the  past  year  this  cruel  king  has  been 
sacrificing  a  great  many  slaves  on  account  of  his 
father's  death.  He  never  sacrifices  less  than  five  a 
day,  and  sometimes  he  has  killed  as  many  as  500 
in  one  day.  On  hearing  of  the  capture  of  the  Harris, 
loaded  with  slaves,  he  was  so  angry  that  he  had  all 


ON  THE  WEST  AFRICAN  COAST      81 

the  victims  he  sacrificed  on  that  day  dressed  in  Euro 
pean  costume,  and  then  hung  them  up  in  all  sorts  of 
ways,  saying  he  would  let  them  know  how  he  would 
treat  white  slaves.  A  few  days  ago  an  English  com 
modore  paid  a  visit  to  a  tribe  in  the  interior,  and  the 
chief  entertained  him  by  beheading  fifty  slaves  in 
honor  of  his  visit. 

A  few  days  later  George  writes  one  of  his 
younger  brothers  that  the  Sumter  has  been 
cruising  about  the  Bight  of  Benin  without  seeing 
a  sail.  He  knew,  however,  what  would  interest 
the  boy:  — 

When  the  ship  is  hove  to  we  make  the  time  pass 
with  a  little  shark  fishing,  which  I  think  such  a  fisher 
man  as  you  are  would  enjoy.  Yesterday  I  harpooned 
a  tremendous  fellow,  and  we  had  a  great  time  getting 
him  on  board.  There  are  so  many  sharks  round  the 
ship  all  the  time  that  we  have  to  be  very  careful  not 
to  fall  overboard,  for  once  in  the  water  there  would  be 
no  help  for  us. 

If  we  catch  a  slaver  perhaps  I  shall  come- home  in 
charge  of  her;  though  the  officers  that  have  had 
charge  of  prizes  tell  awful  stories  of  the  passage  to 
Monrovia  with  slaves  on  board.  Even  when  there  is 
no  disease  among  the  slaves,  the  smell  that  rises  from 
the  ship's  hold  is  so  horrible  that  it  makes  one  sick  all 
the  time.  It  is  almost  impossible  to  endure  it  so  as  to 
perform  duty.  One  officer,  writing  from  Monrovia, 
says  nothing  could  tempt  him  to  take  charge  of  an 
other  prize,  and  he  was  lucky,  for  the  slaves  died  only 
at  the  rate  of  five  a  day. 


8o        GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

have  great  hopes  that  we  shall  capture  one  or  two 
prizes.  That  will  be  some  compensation  for  being  on 
this  station. 

What  a  happy  time  I  had  at  home  those  last  three 
months!  I  am  constantly  recalling  it  and  wishing 
those  days  would  come  back  again. 

November  29,  1859. 

The  captain  and  I  took  breakfast  a  few  mornings 
ago  with  King  Te,  a  celebrated  old  negro  on  this  part 
of  the  coast.  The  breakfast  was  served  up  in  great 
style,  for  he  is  rich,  having  made  a  great  deal  of 
money  in  the  slave-trade.  The  occasion  was  thor 
oughly  novel,  but  I  found  it  difficult  to  swallow  some 
of  the  food. 

Speaking  of  one  feast  reminds  me  of  another.  I  for 
got  to  tell  you  about  the  way  we  kept  Thanksgiving. 
The  commodore  fixed  it  for  the  fleet  on  November 
24.  On  that  day  we  were  off  Lagos,  a  noted  slave- 
station.  It  was  very  hot,  and  every  one  of  our  sur 
roundings  was  as  different  from  New  England  as  was 
possible.  We  had  a  big  dinner,  though,  and  did  our 
best  to  celebrate. 

The  king  of  the  Dahomeys,  which  is  a  warlike 
tribe  on  the  coast,  supplies  most  of  the  slave  traders 
by  selling  them  his  prisoners  of  war.  He  is  very 
angry  that  so  many  vessels  should  be  sent  to  stop  the 
traffic.  During  the  past  year  this  cruel  king  has  been 
sacrificing  a  great  many  slaves  on  account  of  his 
father's  death.  He  never  sacrifices  less  than  five  a 
day,  and  sometimes  he  has  killed  as  many  as  500 
in  one  day.  On  hearing  of  the  capture  of  the  Harris, 
loaded  with  slaves,  he  was  so  angry  that  he  had  all 


ON  THE  WEST  AFRICAN  COAST      81 

the  victims  he  sacrificed  on  that  day  dressed  in  Euro 
pean  costume,  and  then  hung  them  up  in  all  sorts  of 
ways,  saying  he  would  let  them  know  how  he  would 
treat  white  slaves.  A  few  days  ago  an  English  com 
modore  paid  a  visit  to  a  tribe  in  the  interior,  and  the 
chief  entertained  him  by  beheading  fifty  slaves  in 
honor  of  his  visit. 

A  few  days  later  George  writes  one  of  his 
younger  brothers  that  the  Sumter  has  been 
cruising  about  the  Bight  of  Benin  without  seeing 
a  sail.  He  knew,  however,  what  would  interest 
the  boy:- 

When  the  ship  is  hove  to  we  make  the  time  pass 
with  a  little  shark  fishing,  which  I  think  such  a  fisher 
man  as  you  are  would  enjoy.  Yesterday  I  harpooned 
a  tremendous  fellow,  and  we  had  a  great  time  getting 
him  on  board.  There  are  so  many  sharks  round  the 
ship  all  the  time  that  we  have  to  be  very  careful  not 
to  fall  overboard,  for  once  in  the  water  there  would  be 
no  help  for  us. 

If  we  catch  a  slaver  perhaps  I  shall  come  home  in 
charge  of  her;  though  the  officers  that  have  had 
charge  of  prizes  tell  awful  stories  of  the  passage  to 
Monrovia  with  slaves  on  board.  Even  when  there  is 
no  disease  among  the  slaves,  the  smell  that  rises  from 
the  ship's  hold  is  so  horrible  that  it  makes  one  sick  all 
the  time.  It  is  almost  impossible  to  endure  it  so  as  to 
perform  duty.  One  officer,  writing  from  Monrovia, 
says  nothing  could  tempt  him  to  take  charge  of  an 
other  prize,  and  he  was  lucky,  for  the  slaves  died  only 
at  the  rate  of  five  a  day. 


82        GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

The  next  letter  is  dated  December  15,  when 
the  ship  was  again  at  Lagos. 

We  have  just  come  in  here  to  mail  our  letters.  We 
hear  that  the  king  of  Dahomey  has  finished  his  yearly 
sacrifices,  and  has  killed  slaves  enough  to  float  his 
canoe  in  their  blood. 

We  have  been  out  to  the  Elobey  Island  where  we 
were  sent  by  the  commodore  to  survey  the  harbor  and 
make  a  general  report  about  things  there.  But  there 
was  nothing  on  or  about  these  islands  to  make  them  of 
any  use,  either  for  a  coal  depot  or  for  any  other  of  our 
purposes,  and  we  were  glad  to  get  away. 

Captain  Armstrong  expects  to  be  ordered  to  the 
San  Jacinto,  which  is  one  of  the  largest  side-wheel 
steamers.  He  says  he  has  permission  from  the  com 
modore  to  take  me  with  him.  Our  captain  stands 
high  in  the  estimation  of  the  commodore,  who  is 
much  pleased  with  his  reports  and  with  the  condition 
of  this  ship.  The  commodore  lets  him  do  as  he  thinks 
best  in  small  matters  and  this  makes  it  pleasant  for 
all. 

There  were  already  some  cases  of  fever  on 
shipboard,  and  all  knew  that  in  the  unhealthy 
climate  it  was  dangerous  to  venture  ashore. 
Nevertheless,  it  was  almost  impossible  for 
Perkins  not  to  make  occasional  visits.  He  found 
much  to  interest  him  in  the  Boobes,  a  tribe  that 
at  times  came  down  from  the  mountains  for 
supplies,  whose  "principal  dress  is  a  hat."  In 
shaking  hands  with  their  dusky  monarch,  he 


ON  THE  WEST  AFRICAN  COAST      83 

discovered  that  the  "king's  touch"  worked  him 
not  the  traditional  benefit,  but  evil  —  an  erup 
tion  on  his  hands  followed.  Later  he  felt  he  had 
arrived  at  a  satisfactory  explanation  when  he 
learned  that  the  tribe  were  never  known  to  wash. 

December  29,  1859. 

For  the  last  week  we  have  been  on  the  track  of  an 
American  slaver,  and  have  thus  had  a  little  variety. 
We  have  been  in  company  with  the  English  man-of- 
war  Cedusa,  and  as  it  was  Christmas  time  we  ex 
changed  festivities,  having  dinner  parties,  excur 
sions  on  shore,  etc.  We  went  to  visit  the  different 
chiefs,  and  have  palavers  about  the  slave  trade.  It  is 
a  rich  sight  to  see  one  of  these  old  negro  chiefs  with 
his  wives  and  slaves.  The  chiefs  have  advanced  ideas 
of  how  to  live  and  are  often  very  sharp;  so  that  even 
if  a  man  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  business  part 
of  the  palaver,  he  cannot  help  being  interested  in  the 
novel  phase  of  human  life,  and  in  all  the  singularities 
of  nature,  both  animal  and  vegetable,  on  a  coast  like 
this. 

We  meet  many  slavers  who  carry  on  the  traffic  as 
"palm-oil  traders."  As  there  are  so  many  vessels  en 
gaged  in  the  slave  trade  I  cannot  help  hoping  we 
shall  make  a  capture.  But  under  the  present  system, 
with  our  laws  such  as  they  are,  we  cannot  do  much, 
and  the  English  make  the  principal  captures.  Slaves 
are  being  constantly  shipped,  and  the  king  of 
Dahomey  is  now  on  a  slave  hunt  to  supply  some 
ships  which  he  expects  from  the  States.  He  is  a  cruel 
old  rascal,  and  says  that  if  he  cannot  sell  his  slaves  he 


84        GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

will  kill  them  for  a  sacrifice,  and  that  they  will  beg  to 
go  in  a  slaver  rather  than  remain  in  his  hands.  We 
heard  terrible  accounts  of  him  while  we  were  in  the 
Bight  of  Benin. 

January  18,  1860. 

Our  cruising  ground  is  now  between  the  equator 
and  St.  Paul  de  Loanda.  Captain  Armstrong  has 
gone  to  command  the  San  Jacinto,  but  because  of 
resignations  and  a  short  supply  of  officers,  I  could  not 
leave  this  ship  to  go  with  him.  We  now  have  Captain 
McDonough. 

You  ask  me,  how  I  look.  Well,  I  am  the  same  size 
as  ever  —  just  the  same  "little  fellow"  —  and  I  have 
given  up  all  hopes  of  growing  taller;  but  I  think  I 
look  considerably  older,  for  this  climate  tells  on  a 
man.  A  great  many  break  down  completely  when 
exposed  to  it.  Five  officers  and  several  men  have 
already  been  condemned  by  medical  survey  and  sent 
home.  All  labor  connected  with  the  ships  that  in 
volves  going  on  shore  has  to  be  done  by  negroes  hired 
for  the  purpose.  So  deadly  is  the  climate,  no  white 
sailor  could  do  it  and  live. 

FERNANDO  Po,  February  12,  1860. 

Nearly  all  the  squadron  are  here,  and  the  officers 
enjoy  seeing  each  other  very  much.  As  for  me,  I  feel 
as  if  I  were  having  my  last  good  time,  for  the  captain 
showed  me  his  orders  last  night  and  we  are  to  cruise 
all  the  year  in  the  wildest  and  most  uncivilized  parts 
of  the  coast;  we  are  to  recruit  finally  at  Elephant's 
Bay,  which  is  a  miserable  place,  but  has  the  merit  of 
being  healthy.  We  have  no  hope  of  Madeira  or  any 
other  pleasant  change. 


ON  THE  WEST  AFRICAN  COAST      85 

Lieutenant  Stewart  is  to  be  married  when  we  go 
home,  and  I  have  just  promised  him  to  go  to  North 
Carolina  and  stand  up  with  him.  Even  now  he  is 
writing  a  long  letter  to  his  sweetheart.  He  is  so  full  of 
fun  I  do  not  know  what  we  should  do  without  him,  and 
we  have  lived  on  this  ship  very  pleasantly  together. 

February  18,  1860. 

We  are  ordered  to  Kabenda,1  as  news  has  been 
received  that  the  negroes  are  going  to  rise  against  the 
white  people  there,  murder  them,  burn  the  factories, 
and  then  run  for  the  bush  where  no  white  man  can 
follow.  So  we  expect  to  have  a  big  row. 

March  12,  1860. 

When  we  arrived  at  Kabenda  we  found  the  natives 
at  war  with  the  Portuguese,  whom  they  had  whipped 
badly  and  driven  back  to  St.  Paul  de  Loanda  with 
considerable  loss.  The  chiefs  said  they  had  nothing 
against  the  Americans  and  would  not  touch  or  inter 
fere  with  them;  so  we  did  not  land  our  forces  but 
stood  up  for  Majumba,2  in  order  to  meet  the  mail 
steamer.  When  we  did  so,  I  received  my  long-looked- 
for  and  much-longed-for  letter  from  home. 

Tell  Sue  that  I  am  afraid  she  will  have  to  continue 
manufacturing  messages  for  my  lady  friends  in  Con 
cord.  As  I  have  not  seen  a  white  woman  for  six 
months,  I  fear  a  message  of  my  own  composition 
would  be  sadly  amiss.  However,  give  my  very  best 
love  to  all  and  tell  them  that  I  have  not  spent  a  happy 
hour  since  I  left  Concord. 

As  I  am  caterer  of  the  mess,  I  go  on  shore  a  good 

1  Forty  miles  north  of  the  mouth  of  the  Congo. 

2  About  two  hundred  miles  farther  north  in  French  Congo. 


86        GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

deal,  and  have  an  excellent  chance  to  see  all  there  is 
of  African  life.  I  have  become  acquainted  with  the 
principal  chiefs  on  the  cruising  ground,  and  find  that 
the  slave-trade  is  carried  on  to  a  great  extent. 

Within  the  last  two  weeks  three  or  four  cargoes 
have  been  taken  from  the  mouth  of  the  Congo,  and  I 
learned  from  one  of  the  chiefs  that  there  were  some 
slavers  up  the  river.  I  gave  the  information  to  Cap 
tain  McDonough,  and  we  started  up;  but  although 
we  ascended  far  enough  to  find  the  navigation  diffi 
cult,  the  slavers'  draft  was  too  light  for  us.  The  cap 
tain  ordered  the  Sumter  back,  and  we  returned  with 
only  the  empty  honor  of  having  gone  farther  up  the 
Congo  than  any  other  man-of-war. 

On  our  way  down  we  stopped  and  ran  up  a  creek 
to  visit  a  French  slave  factory.  The  French  make 
a  government  affair  of  the  trade,  and  have  several 
slave  barracoons  on  the  coast,  from  which  they  ship 
large  numbers.  But  these  slaves,  according  to  French 
conditions,  are  liberated  after  serving  seven  years, 
and  if  they  choose  can  come  back  to  this  coast. 

The  French  people  were  very  polite  to  us,  showed 
us  their  barracoons  and  slave  ships,  and  all  the  slaves 
that  were  there  ready  to  be  shipped.  They  amounted 
to  several  hundred  and  were  kept  in  good  discipline 
by  a  few  powerful  negroes  and  a  moderate  allowance 
of  whipping.  We  found  the  barracoons  in  excellent 
order,  everything  clean  and  well  regulated.  The 
slaves  went  through  a  series  of  performances  for  our 
entertainment.  They  danced  their  native  dances, 
sang  native  songs,  and  played  some  of  their  native 
games.  It  was  all  peculiar  and  interesting,  and  we 
enjoyed  it.  Indeed,  our  stay  there  was  an  improve 
ment  on  anything  we  have  had  so  far  on  the  coast. 


ON  THE  WEST  AFRICAN  COAST      87 

Coming  down  the  Congo,  we  started  for  Loango, 
but,  finding  we  were  short  of  coal,  went  to  St.  Paul 
de  Loanda,  where  we  met  several  of  our  squadron. 
Our  pleasant  trip  had  rather  a  melancholy  ending,  for 
Captain  McDonough  is  to  be  superseded  in  his  com 
mand  on  account  of  the  unsatisfactory  state  of  his 
health. 

The  captain's  poor  "health"  was  a  kindly 
allusion  to  an  extremely  unhappy  condition.  He 
had  been  drunk  nearly  all  the  time  since  he  had 
taken  command  of  the  ship.  Finally,  nothing 
else  remained  for  his  officers  but  to  report  him. 
Captain  Brent  of  the  Marion  at  once  suspended 
him  from  duty  and  ordered  Lieutenant  Stewart 
temporarily  to  take  command.  Captain  Mc 
Donough  was  tried  by  general  court-martial  on 
September  I,  1860,  and  ordered  home.  Those 
officers  who  had  a  weakness  for  liquor  found 
the  African  coast  with  its  monotony  and  isola 
tion  a  dangerous  station.  They  also  were  least 
able  to  withstand  the  deadly  tropical  fevers. 

April  15,  1860. 

The  clipper  ship  Nightingale  shipped  a  cargo  of 
2000  negroes  and  has  gone  clear  with  them.  If  she 
gets  them  to  Havana,  they  will  bring,  on  an  average, 
$600  apiece;  so  you  can  calculate  how  much  money 
will  be  made  on  her.  The  Nightingale  is  a  powerful 
clipper,  and  is  the  property  of  her  captain,  Bowen, 


88        GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

who  is  called  the  Prince  of  Slavers.  The  first  time  I 
was  up  the  Congo,  the  Sumter  went  up  fifteen  miles 
after  a  slaver  under  his  command,  called  the  Sultana. 
We  found  the  bark  Sultana  and  the  brig  Kibby  with 
their  slave  decks  all  laid  and  everything  ready  for  the 
cargo.  We  examined  both  ships  and  detained  one  for 
three  days;  then  our  captain  let  her  go,  declaring 
against  every  proof  that  there  was  nothing  in  the 
ship  but  what  was  in  her  manifest.  Of  course  these 
ships  at  once  filled  up  with  slaves  and  calmly  sailed 
off  —  there  was  no  escape  about  it.  With  the  money 
Bowen  made  from  the  sale  of  those  slaves  he  has  pur 
chased  the  Nightingale,  one  of  the  fastest  clippers 
known.  When  I  saw  Bowen  in  command  of  the 
Sultana  he  was  living  very  luxuriously;  everything  in 
his  cabin  had  elegance,  and  everything  about  his  career 
was  as  nearly  as  possible  like  that  of  the  romantic 
pirates  and  slave  captains  who  are  introduced  into 
novels.  Our  vessels  cruise  very  little  now  after  slavers. 
The  captains  think  it  useless  under  existing  laws. 

Miss  Perkins  relates  that  in  1864  in  New 
Orleans  her  brother  chanced  again  to  meet  the 
captain  of  the  Kibby,  and  learned  of  the  later 
history  of  Bowen.  Some  time  after  the  Nightin 
gale  had  eluded  the  Sumter  she  ran  into  another 
war  vessel  and  was  captured.  However,  Bowen 
made  his  escape,  soon  had  another  ship,  and  re 
sumed  his  old  trade.  Later  he  was  taken  by  the 
English,  and  again  made  his  escape.  As  there 
was  no  longer  a  profitable  market  for  slaves,  he 


ON  THE  WEST  AFRICAN  COAST     89 

turned  his  attention  to  the  hotel  business  in 
Aspinwall,  and  was  flourishing  there  according 
to  the  latest  report. 

April  15,  1860. 

It  is  Sunday  evening,  and  everything  is  quiet  on 
board  ship,  for  poor  Captain  Rooney  is  very  sick,  and 
there  is  but  little  hope  of  his  recovery.  We  all  pity 
him,  but  I  do  not  think  he  cares  to  live,  for  he  has  had 
a  great  deal  of  trouble.  The  other  day  he  received  a 
letter  from  the  woman  who  once  was  his  wife,  but 
who  had  deserted  him.  It  was  a  letter  written  some 
time  ago  that  had  been  following  him  all  about.  He 
was  terribly  excited  by  receiving  it  and  since  then  has 
grown  rapidly  worse. 

Even  little  Jack  Stewart  is  quiet  and  downhearted, 
not  only  on  account  of  poor  Rooney,  but  because  his 
sweetheart  has  stopped  writing  him.  He  says  this  is 
the  ninth  time  his  faithful  heart  has  been  shattered 
by  Cupid's  arrows. 

April  16,  1860. 

I  cannot  write  or  do  much  of  anything  to-day,  for 
I  was  up  all  night  with  the  captain,  and  I  am  very 
tired.  He  has  my  room,  as  it  is  the  coolest  on  board 
ship.  I  can  hear  him  now  talking  and  muttering  in  a 
feverish  way,  and  every  little  while  he  breaks  out  and 
raves  in  a  wild  delirium.  It  is  dreadful.  The  doctor 
says  that  if  there  is  no  change  for  the  better  very  soon, 
he  cannot  possibly  live.  I  wish  he  could  get  better, 
for  sickness  and  death  on  board  ship  are  very  sad. 

April  20,  1860. 

Everything  is  very  quiet  on  board  ship  this  even 
ing.  The  officers  say  little  and  the  boys  speak  in 


90        GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

whispers  round  the  ward  table,  as  though  they  were 
afraid  of  waking  the  dead.  For  poor  Rooney  is  dead. 
The  officers  were  standing  round  his  bed  a  few  hours 
ago  when  he  expired.  His  disease  was  delirium  tre- 
mens.  It  was  indeed  sad  that  he  did  not  awake  to 
consciousness  and  leave  some  parting  request  for  his 
family  and  friends,  and  prepare  himself  in  a  measure 
to  stand  before  his  Maker.  The  weather  adds  to  our 
gloominess;  the  night  is  awful,  the  rain  comes  in  tor 
rents  with  sharp  lightning  and  long  rolling  thunder. 
It  seems  doubly  to  warn  us  of  the  presence  of  the 
Supreme  Being. 

KABENDA,  April  26,  1860. 

We  brought  Captain  Rooney's  remains  here  and 
buried  him  with  military  and  Masonic  honors.  We 
had  his  grave  dug  under  a  large  tree  on  shore.  The 
spot  is  pleasant,  but  the  surroundings  are  wild  and 
the  inhabitants  on  this  part  of  the  coast  are  almost 
in  a  savage  state.  They  say,  however,  "We  like  the 
Americans,  and  we  will  not  touch  the  dead  man." 

May  13,  1860. 

The  doctor  and  I  have  been  on  an  excursion  into 
the  interior  to  a  place  five  miles  from  Point  Pedras.1 
The  natives  there  are  savage  and  treacherous  so  that 
no  white  person  can  stay  there.  But  with  us  igno 
rance  was  bliss.  Knowing  nothing  about  them,  we 
started  on  our  trip  without  arms  but  with  five  bottles 
of  gin  and  two  Kroomen  to  carry  them.  We  went  to  a 
large  village,  and  soon  after  our  arrival  saw  how  mat 
ters  were.  So  uncivil  were  the  people  that  we  really 
feared  for  our  lives.  However,  we  managed  to  get  the 

1  A  few  miles  northwest  of  Majumba  in  French  Congo. 


ON  THE  WEST  AFRICAN   COAST      91 

old  king  drunk,  when  he  said  he  was  our  friend.  The 
natives  did  not  dare  to  act  without  his  orders,  so  that 
we  reached  the  brush  without  much  trouble  and 
returned  to  the  ship  all  right. 

May  27,  1860. 

We  are  now  anchored  off  shore  between  Point 
Pedras  and  Majumba.  At  four  o'clock  to-morrow 
morning  we  shall  get  under  way.  When  we  arrive  we 
shall  fire  a  gun,  which  is  the  prevailing  signal  on  this 
coast  for  notifying  the  natives  that  one  wishes  to 
trade.  A  few  hours  after  this  signal  the  coast  will  be 
lined  with  negroes  loaded  with  all  their  produce, 
which  consists  of  goats,  chickens,  eggs,  pigs,  etc., 
with  a  few  mats  and  baskets.  After  the  beach  is  well 
covered  with  natives,  we  have  our  boat  manned  by 
the  Kroomen.  These  are  huge  black  fellows  that  ship 
on  this  station  for  boat  duty  and  the  work  ashore, 
which  our  men  cannot  perform  in  this  climate.  They 
come  from  the  Kroo  country  in  Upper  Guinea,  just 
south  of  Liberia.  When  they  ship,  the  officers  usually 
christen  them  by  some  queer  name  —  the  more  ridic 
ulous  the  better  —  and  the  Krooman  answers  to  this 
all  through  the  service.  A  special  favorite  of  mine  is 
called  "Upside  Down";  then  there  is  another  named 
"Frying  Pan";  and  a  particularly  big  and  black  one 
is  named  after  a  delicate  Annapolis  belle.  They  seem 
to  be  almost  amphibious,  and  it  is  astonishing  to  see 
them  in  the  water. 

At  this  season  of  the  year  the  surf  runs  high  and  it 
is  dangerous  to  land;  at  any  rate  we  rarely  escape  a 
ducking.  The  further  story  of  our  trading  will  show 
how  it  happens. 

When  the  boat  is  ready  and  manned  by  the  Kroo- 


92        GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

men,  all  the  old  bottles,  old  cans,  ship  knives,  cotton 
handkerchiefs,  old  clothes,  and  several  bottles  of 
liquor  are  passed  into  it,  and  then  such  officers  as 
wish  to  go  take  their  places.  Most  of  the  officers, 
though,  after  a  few  trips  to  satisfy  their  curiosity  give 
up  going  as  they  do  not  like  the  surf.  Your  affec 
tionate  brother,  however,  always  goes;  anything  for 
variety,  and  there  is  a  good  deal  of  excitement  about 
this. 

The  Kroomen  strike  up  a  song  to  pull  by  and  row 
four  or  five  miles  to  the  edge  of  the  surf.  Then  they 
lie  on  their  oars,  and  all  eyes  turn  leeward  looking  for 
a  big  roller  to  carry  them  on  shore.  These  moments  of 
watching  are  exciting  and  you  hold  your  breath  in 
spite  of  yourself.  The  roller  looks  like  a  great  live 
monster,  and  you  do  not  feel  at  all  sure  how  he  will 
treat  you.  At  length  when  the  looked-for  wave 
comes,  the  Kroomen  give  way  with  a  shout,  the  na 
tives  on  shore  yell  with  all  their  might,  the  boat  shoots 
forward  on  the  top  of  the  breaker  at  the  rate  of 
twenty  knots  an  hour,  while  the  surf  thunders  like  the 
roar  of  a  battery.  Altogether  it  seems  as  if  the  world 
had  come  to  an  end,  and  all  the  fellows  in  the  infernal 
regions  were  let  loose. 

Now  you  must  trust  to  luck.  There  is  no  retreat, 
and  go  on  shore  you  must,  either  in  the  boat  or  under 
it.  After  the  few  wild  moments  of  rapid  transit,  the 
boat  strikes  the  beach,  the  Kroomen  jump  overboard, 
if  they  are  not  there  already,  and  you  jumpon  the  back 
of  one.  He  runs  up  the  beach  with  you  out  of  the  way 
of  the  next  roller,  which  immediately  follows  the  one 
that  brought  you  in,  and  which  breaks  over  the  boat, 
often  upsetting  it,  and  always  wetting  everything 
inside.  When  the  Krooman  lands  you  from  his  back 


ON  THE  WEST  AFRICAN  COAST      93 

high  up  on  the  dry  beach,  if  you  have  escaped  a  good 
thorough  soaking,  and  are  not  half  drowned,  you  are 
fortunate. 

Three  weeks  later  Perkins  had  a  thrilling 
experience  which  furnishes  abundant  proof  of 
the  danger  connected  with  landing.  He  relates 
his  adventure  in  a  letter  dated  June  17,  1860:  — 

A  short  time  ago,  when  the  ship  was  off  the  Settee 
River,1  I  thought  it  would  be  a  good  idea  to  try  and 
discover  the  river's  mouth.  So  I  volunteered  to  take 
a  boat's  crew  and  attempt  it;  I  had  no  idea  of  trying 
to  land,  for  that  I  knew  would  be  foolhardy. 

We  pulled  in,  till  about  half  a  mile  from  shore,  and 
then  rowed  along  the  coast.  But  while  we  were  ex 
amining  the  shore  for  the  river's  outlet,  a  roller 
which  had  started  far  out  at  sea  caught  our  boat  and 
capsized  it.  Of  course  we  were  obliged  to  swim  for 
shore,  though,  in  truth,  we  had  little  to  do  with  it,  for 
the  moment  the  boat  was  upset  we  were  driven  in  the 
surf.  Not  one  of  us  thought  we  should  ever  reach  the 
shore;  for  if  we  were  not  drowned  we  would  be  eaten 
up  by  the  sharks.  As  I  rose  on  the  top  of  a  wave,  I 
looked  ahead  and  saw  nothing  but  a  great  stretch  of 
wild-tossing  surf.  It  seemed  perfectly  impossible  for 
anyone  to  live  in  it.  But  when  I  looked  back  I  saw 
all  my  men  striking  out  for  the  shore,  and  this  was 
very  encouraging,  for  I  was  afraid  one  or  two  might 
be  under  the  boat.  I  thought  for  a  moment  of  you  all 
at  home,  and  wondered  if  mother  would  not  feel  a 
little  frightened  if  she  knew  where  her  oldest  son  was 

1  Near  Point  Pedras. 


94        GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

at  that  moment;  and  it  occurred  to  me  how  small 
were  the  chances  that  I  should  ever  receive  my  next 
letter  from  you  —  our  ship  was  then  on  its  way  for 
the  mail.  Then  a  roller  struck  me  and  carried  me 
down  so  deep  that  I  was  caught  by  the  undertow  and 
kept  down  a  long  time,  all  the  while  being  carried 
towards  the  sea.  When  I  came  up  again  I  tried  to 
look  out  for  the  next  roller,  but  it  was  of  no  use;  the 
one  that  followed  half  drowned  me,  and  the  next 
kept  me  down  so  long  that  when  I  rose  I  was  still  right 
in  the  worst  of  the  surf  trembling  and  tossing  all 
about  me.  My  eyes,  nose,  and  mouth  were  full  of 
sand,  and  I  certainly  thought  my  time  had  come. 

Just  then  I  looked  towards  shore  and  saw  two  of 
my  men  dragging  another  from  the  water.  At  that  I 
struck  out  again  and  my  last  despairing  kick  brought 
me  where  two  of  the  men  took  hold  of  me.  That  was 
all  I  knew  of  the  affair.  My  next  sensation  was  of 
being  well  shaken;  then  my  consciousness  gradually 
returned,  and  I  heard  one  of  the  men  say,  "  Cheer  up, 
Mr.  Perkins,  your  boat  and  all  the  men  are  on  shore." 
This  was  such  good  news  that  I  did  not  mind  the 
uncomfortable  position  in  which  I  found  myself.  I 
was  covered  with  sand  and  stretched  across  a  log 
about  two  feet  high,  my  head  on  one  side  and  my  feet 
on  the  other,  while  the  men  were  doing  all  they  could 
to  bring  me  to. 

June  24,  1860. 

While  writing  this  letter  a  week  ago,  I  was  taken 
sick  with  the  African  fever,  and  this  is  the  first  time  I 
have  attempted  to  sit  up.  But  everything  looks  so 
pleasant  this  morning  I  thought  I  would  try  to  write 
you  a  few  lines.  The  doctor  says  I  am  still  weak  and 


ON  THE  WEST  AFRICAN  COAST      95 

must  not  sit  up  long.  I  shall  be  well,  though,  pretty 
soon. 

I  want  to  finish  writing  you  about  our  shipwreck. 
After  getting  ashore  and  coming  to  my  senses,  I 
found  three  of  my  men  half  drowned,  and  another 
one  injured.  It  was  a  little  after  sunset,  and  in  look 
ing  about  we  found  we  were  wrecked  on  a  sand-spit. 
We  managed  to  get  the  boat  up  into  the  river,  but 
having  gone  some  time  without  food,  we  began  to 
feel  weak  and  faint  and  to  suffer  awfully  from  thirst. 
The  next  morning  we  lost  our  way,  but  after  pulling 
about  till  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  we  came  on 
some  natives  fishing.  We  followed  them  to  their  vil 
lage,  but  they  were  such  a  miserable,  bad-looking  set 
of  negroes  that  at  once  we  expected  trouble.  Know 
ing  that  the  native  villages  were  left  in  charge  of  the 
old  men  in  the  daytime,  while  the  young  and  strong 
were  off  hunting  and  fishing,  we  did  not  know  what 
might  happen  when  the  latter  came  back  at  night. 
So  after  killing  some  chickens  and  making  a  very 
good  meal  with  these  and  some  sweet  potatoes,  the 
strongest  of  us  —  four  including  myself  —  made 
ready  for  a  fight;  the  rest  manned  the  boat  for  retreat. 
A  short  time  after  this  the  chief  came  home  and 
about  a  hundred  men  with  him. 

I  am  getting  tired,  and  you  will  be  tired  of  reading 
such  a  long  yarn,  so  that  I  had  better  cut  it  short.  I 
told  the  chief  that  I  had  come  to  pay  him  a  visit  and 
we  had  a  great  palaver.  He  would  not  give  us  anything 
to  eat,  and  we  made  up  our  minds  it  was  not  best  to 
stay  long  in  his  neighborhood.  So  we  moved  down 
on  a  sand-spit  in  sight  of  our  ship,  and  there  stayed 
three  days  and  three  nights  waiting  for  the  surf  to  go 
down. 


96        GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

We  made  a  sort  of  tent  and  built  a  fortification, 
traded  almost  all  our  clothes  for  something  to  eat, 
and  slept  unpleasantly  near  500  howling  savages.  It 
was  a  hard,  disagreeable  time,  and  all  the  while  the 
ship  was  in  sight  but  could  render  us  no  assistance. 
We  learned  afterwards  that  they  floated  off  casks  of 
provisions  in  hopes  the  tide  would  bring  them  in,  but 
they  never  reached  us.  In  time,  though,  some  Kroo- 
men  got  on  shore  from  the  ship  and  brought  us  some 
oars.  After  trying  all  one  day,  we  succeeded,  just  at 
night,  in  pulling  through  the  surf  and  getting  back  to 
the  ship. 

It  was  a  happy  evening  for  us,  and  it  seemed  so  for 
all  hands,  for  everyone  on  board  had  been  very 
anxious  about  us.  The  Kroomen  were  sure  we  should 
all  be  drowned.  Not  far  north  of  this  place,  if  a  sailor 
happens  to  get  cast  ashore,  the  natives  kill  and  eat 
him  at  once.  Cannibalism  is  by  no  means  extinct 
among  many  of  the  negro  tribes.  The  men  that  were 
with  me  have  all  been  down  with  the  fever,  and  I  am 
the  last  case.  The  doctor  has  just  come  and  says  I 
must  go  to  bed.  So  good-night. 

In  the  experiences  on  this  dismal  coast,  the 
thought  of  home  for  Perkins  seems  never  to 
have  lost  its  power  to  relieve  the  monotony 
and  give  brightness  and  cheer  —  the  best  evi 
dence  possible  as  to  the  character  of  the  home 
as  well  as  of  the  home-loving  young  offi 
cer.  Not  infrequently  his  thought  is  for  the 
younger  brothers,  as  may  be  seen  from  the  fol 
lowing:  — 


ON  THE  WEST  AFRICAN  COAST      97 

Tell  Frank  I  will  bring  him  all  the  coins  I  can  pick 
up.  The  negroes  use  shells,  called  cowries,  for  money, 
and  have  of  course  no  coinage. 

And  later  as  he  tells  of  his  pets:  — 

I  trade  in  birds  a  good  deal  and  keep  a  collection  on 
board  ship  in  my  room  and  about  the  rigging.  I  have 
some  splendid  parrots;  some  of  them  know  so  much 
that  it  almost  scares  me;  it  seems  as  if  they  must  be 
human.  There  is  one  I  mean  to  keep  and  bring  home 
if  I  can;  I  call  him  "Bosen,"  for  he  is  the  only  one 
that  can  exactly  imitate  the  boatswain's  whistle.  I 
have  two  little  "love-birds,"  and  they  are  the  most 
cunning  birds  there  ever  were.  I  have  a  "widow- 
bird,"  too,  and  I  wish  you  could  see  the  beautiful 
plumage  for  which  this  bird  is  noted.  I  find,  to  my 
sorrow,  that  many  of  the  birds  I  get  here  will  not  live 
long  on  board  ship,  and  I  think  I  shall  have  to  give  up 
birds  and  take  to  monkeys. 

I  have  a  beautiful  little  blue-nosed  monkey  who  is 
very  intelligent,  but  is  always  in  mischief.  He  has  a 
special  spite  against  little  Jack  Stewart  and  takes 
every  opportunity  to  plague  him.  No  sooner  does 
poor  Stewart  seat  himself  under  the  skylight  for 
a  good,  comfortable  read  than  this  little  scamp 
watches  his  chance,  and  then  with  one  spring  lights 
exactly  on  the  bald  spot  in  the  middle  of  Stewart's 
head.  Poor  Stewart  jumps  up  in  an  awful  rage, 
swearing  he  will  "kill  that  monkey,"  who,  by  this 
time,  is  sitting  in  the  rigging  out  of  his  reach  and 
chattering  and  laughing  at  him. 

Near  the  end  of  June,  while  Perkins  was  still 
suffering  from  fever,  he  sent  by  the  Marion, 


93        GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

which  was  leaving  for  home,  presents  varied  in 
kind.  There  were  ninety  pounds  of  coffee,  a 
bundle  of  mats,  two  sets  of  African  baskets,  one 
saw-iish,  and  three  idols,  together  with  a  box  for 
his  sister  Susan,  ordered  from  Madeira. 

Miss  Susan  was  four  years  the  younger,  but 
between  the  two  a  strong  comradeship  as  well 
as  the  tenderest  affection  ever  existed.  Thus, 
in  writing  to  his  mother,  at  this  time,  Perkins 
says :  — 

I  received  a  letter  from  Sue  by  the  last  mail.  She 
posted  me  up  very  well  about  home.  Sue  is  my  main 
stay.  I  do  not  know  what  I  should  do  if  she  were  not 
at  home. 

Of  the  box  sent  from  Africa  to  his  sister,  for 
tunately  Miss  Susan  herself  has  written  a 
description :  — 

This  consisted  of  lovely  specimens  of  the  delicate 
and  beautiful  Madeira  work  and  embroidery,  much 
rarer  then  than  now.  Besides  boxes  of  fine  mosaic, 
chains  of  hair-work,  feather  flowers,  a  shawl  knit  by 
hand  of  the  finest  thread,  and  yards  of  hand-made 
trimming.  I  shall  never  forget  how  delighted  I  was 
to  receive  this  box,  and  what  a  wonderful  brother 
George  seemed  to  me. 

There  was  still  a  year  more  of  duty  for  him 
on  the  African  coast,  and  his  shipwreck  in  the 


ON  THE  WEST  AFRICAN  COAST      99 

Settee  River  by  no  means  ended  his  adventures. 
It  was  impossible  for  one  of  Perkins's  tempera 
ment  to  avoid  them. 

August  27,  1860. 

Since  I  wrote  you  last  I  have  visited  two  of  the 
wildest  places.  The  first  was  on  the  Bonney  River; 
this,  after  I  had  crossed  one  of  the  most  dangerous 
bars  on  the  coast,  I  ascended  twenty-five  miles  in  an 
open  boat.  I  went  to  carry  the  mails  to  the  English 
mail  steamer,  and  once  at  the  station  I  had  to  remain 
three  days  on  account  of  the  high  surf,  and  at  last  had 
to  come  out  on  the  English  steamer.  One  of  the 
palm-oil  traders  gave  a  big  supper  in  honor  of  my 
arrival  up  the  river,  and  said  I  was  the  first  American 
naval  officer  that  had  ever  been  in  Bonney.  The  offi 
cers  of  the  mail  steamer  told  me  that  they  had  never 
heard  of  such  a  boat  as  mine  crossing  the  bar,  and 
that  it  was  a  great  wonder  I  had  arrived  safely.  The 
natives  on  the  Bonney  River  are  cannibals,  and  if  I 
had  been  upset  they  would  have  killed  and  eaten  me. 

The  shark  is  a  fetish  among  the  negroes  on  this 
river,  who  feed  them  till  they  grow  large  and  fierce. 
Every  year  they  sacrifice  an  innocent  child,  brought 
up  expressly  for  this  purpose.  This  child  is  generally 
ten  years  old,  and  must  be  healthy  and  perfect  in 
every  respect.  The  slightest  scratch  will  make  her 
unfit  for  the  sacrifice.  On  the  appointed  day  the  child 
is  placed  on  some  planks  across  a  canoe  and  taken 
out  on  the  river.  They  do  not  let  her  know  her  hor 
rible  fate,  but  all  at  once  they  tip  the  plank,  and  the 
moment  she  touches  the  water  she  is  seized  and  de 
voured  by  a  monster  that  is  hovering  about. 

As  I  had  been  gone  so  long,  all  on  board  ship 


ioo      GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

thought  I  was  lost,  and  they  gave  me  a  warm  wel 
come  when  I  came  back  safe  and  sound. 

Directly  after  my  return  we  started  south  and 
anchored  in  Camma  Bay,  up  the  Fernan  Vas  River.1 
Captain  Laurens,  an  American  merchant  there,  sent 
for  some  of  our  officers  to  come  on  shore  and  have  a 
palaver  with  the  natives.  So  Stewart  and  several 
others  including  myself  accepted  the  invitation,  and 
found  when  we  went  ashore  that  a  large  number  of 
natives  with  their  chiefs  had  collected  to  receive  us. 
As  Captain  Laurens  was  anxious  to  impress  them 
with  the  dignity  of  the  officers  of  his  Government,  I 
persuaded  Stewart  to  go  in  full  uniform,  cocked  hat, 
and  all.  The  rest  of  us  following  attended  him  with 
the  utmost  ceremony,  and  gave  the  natives  to  under 
stand  his  person  was  sacred.  He  made  them  a  fine- 
sounding  address,  which  was  interpreted  to  them.  In 
this  he  set  forth  the  power  and  glory  of  the  United 
States,  and  then  said  that  his  country  was  willing  and 
even  desirous  to  be  on  good  terms  with  such  famous 
chiefs,  and  would  protect  them  if  they  never  would 
harm  the  Americans,  especially  Captain  Laurens. 

They  made  a  suitable  reply,  and  the  palaver  being 
done,  they  set  themselves  to  preparing  a  feast.  They 
first  slaughtered  an  ox,  which  was  to  be  cooked  and 
eaten  whole,  and  then  began  to  prepare  other  equally 
delicate  dishes.  Some  of  the  savages  had  never  seen  a 
white  man  before,  and  they  would  slink  up  to  us, 
touch  our  white  skins,  look  at  us  for  a  moment  with 
their  fierce,  wild  eyes,  and  then  run  away.  Night  was 
now  coming  on,  and  darkness  descends  so  quickly  in 
this  latitude  that  I  began  to  be  anxious.  So  I  col- 

1  In  French  Congo,  about  two  degrees  south  of  the  Equator. 


ON  THE  WEST  AFRICAN  COAST    101 

lected  my  party  and  hurried  them  off.  I  tied  in  the 
boat  some  wild  dogs  and  a  red-headed  monkey, 
which  I  had  bought,  and  then  we  got  in  and  shoved 
off.  In  spite  of  all  our  efforts,  the  boat  capsized  just 
as  it  rose  on  the  last  wave  of  the  surf,  and  we  had  to 
swim.  At  length,  however,  the  boat  was  righted,  and 
all  having  been  picked  up  we  reached  the  ship  in 
safety.  Later,  I  nearly  died  with  laughing  as  I 
thought  of  our  adventure,  and  so  would  you  if  you 
could  have  seen  it.  Of  course,  the  moment  the  boat 
upset  I  struck  out  for  the  shore.  As  soon  as  I  was  able 
to  look  back  and  see  where  the  rest  were,  I  caught  a 
glimpse  of  poor  little  Stewart,  who  had  wholly  aban 
doned  himself  to  the  rollers.  He  was  bobbing  up  and 
down  between  the  wild  dogs  and  the  monkey.  First, 
his  cocked  hat  would  rise  on  a  wave,  and  then  his 
little  boots  would  come  uppermost,  or  vice  versa.  All 
in  the  vicinity  were  sputtering,  howling,  and  yelling, 
and  unable  to  do  anything  else.  But  we  soon  rescued 
them,  and  now  we  are  all  safe  on  shipboard. 

The  ducking  did  not  seem  to  agree  with  the  ani 
mals  as  well  as  with  the  human  beings,  for  my  wild 
dogs  died,  and  as  my  monkey  was  beginning  to  droop 
I  sent  him  ashore.  So  this  time  Hammie  and  Frank 
have  lost  their  present. 

The  months  during  the  latter  part  of  1860  and 
early  part  of  1861  were  not  without  their  small 
occurrences,  but  the  incidents  seem  to  be 
largely  a  repetition  of  previous  ones,  and  the 
routine  duties  considerably  increased.  Perkins 
writes : — 


102      GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

I  keep  pretty  busy  every  day,  and  manage  to  fill 
in  almost  every  moment.  I  have  a  regular  watch, 
four  hours  in  the  day  and  four  hours  in  the  night,  and 
besides  my  duties  as  master  and  navigator,  I  am 
caterer  of  the  mess. 

Supplies  were  expensive  on  the  African  coast 
and  it  required  some  care  to  keep  the  mess  bill 
down  to  thirty  dollars  a  month,  which  it  com 
monly  was  for  the  officers.  In  his  capacity  both 
as  navigator  and  caterer  of  the  mess,  Perkins 
amused  himself  just  before  leaving  the  African 
coast  by  making  some  calculations,  and  dis 
covered  :  — 

Since  we  left  New  York  [twenty-one  months  previ 
ous]  we  have  run  over  50,000  miles,  and  five  of  us 
have  eaten  3000  chickens. 

A  short  visit  made  by  the  Sumter  to  St. 
Helena  in  the  spring  of  1861  brought  a  change 
and  gave  an  opportunity  to  wander  over  the 
island  with  its  high  plateau  where  the  exiled 
Napoleon  had  walked  and  talked  and  dreamed. 

The  absorbing  interest  for  the  Sumter,  how 
ever,  was  the  trouble  that  was  threatening  the 
nation  at  home  —  secession  and  the  prospect  of 
war.  Perkins  writes  from  Skark's  Point,  Congo 
River,  on  March  27,  1861:  — 


ON  THE  WEST  AFRICAN  COAST    103 

We  do  not  know  what  to  think  about  the  dreadful 
news  from  home.  We  take  the  New  York  Herald,  but 
it  reaches  us  very  irregularly  now,  and  we  do  not 
know  what  to  believe.  I  cannot  think  our  grand 
republic  is  going  to  pieces.  Three  of  the  Southern 
officers  in  our  squadron  have  resigned  and  the  others 
from  the  South  threaten  to  do  the  same. 

On  May  I  he  similarly  writes:  — 

The  news  which  the  last  mail  brings  us  confirms, 
without  hope  of  contradiction,  the  fact  there  exists  a 
dreadful  rebellion  in  our  beloved  country.  It  has 
thrown  the  squadron  into  a  state  of  great  excitement. 
For  some  time  past  the  foreigners  on  this  coast  have 
treated  us  with  very  little  respect  and  it  has  been 
plain  that  they  thought  us  a  broken  power.  I  can  tell 
you  this  has  been  very  annoying  to  loyal  officers.  .  .  . 
Is  there  financial  trouble  at  home?  We  cannot  get 
any  money  out  here,  and  we  suppose  the  department 
at  Washington  must  be  in  great  confusion.  The  news 
about  our  country  is  so  absorbing  that  we  can  think 
and  talk  of  nothing  else.  ...  I  do  not  say  much,  but 
I  feel  and  know  that  if  I  had  the  power  I  would  act, 
and  I  think  the  North  has  been  patient  long  enough. 
.  .  .  The  Union  must  be  saved. 

The  officers  on  the  foreign  stations  knew  that 
the  Sumter  and  nearly  all  the  other  ships  must 
soon  be  recalled  to  take  their  part  in  the  war. 
But  though  the  Home  Squadron  was  utterly 
inadequate  to  render  the  service  required  of  it 
on  the  outbreak  of  hostilities,  it  was  months 


io4      GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

before  it  had  received  the  additional  strength 
that  was  available  from  the  ships  on  the  foreign 
stations.  The  reason  was  twofold.  During  the 
latter  part  of  Buchanan's  administration  and 
even  in  the  first  weeks  of  Lincoln's,  the  depart 
ment  feared  to  issue  the  orders  necessary  to 
recall  the  different  squadrons  lest  the  South 
should  regard  it  as  a  hostile  act  and  at  once 
begin  the  conflict.  When  the  orders  finally  were 
sent,  considerably  more  time  elapsed  before  they 
were  received  and  the  ships  could  return. 

While  the  officers  and  men  of  the  Sumter  were 
waiting  with  feverish  anxiety  for  news  from 
Washington,  there  came  the  climax  of  the  two 
years'  cruise.  Under  date  of  June  14,  1861, 
Perkins  writes  with  great  satisfaction  that  they 
have  at  last  captured  a  slaver,  the  brig  Fal- 
mouth.  Perkins  had  the  promise  of  bringing  her 
home,  but  Captain  Armstrong,  who  again  had 
become  the  commanding  officer  of  the  Sumter, 
was  greatly  attached  to  him.  He  desired 
Perkins  to  remain  and  act  as  first  lieutenant  to 
the  end  of  the  cruise.  Of  this  Perkins  writes  to 
his  home  people:  — 

Don't  you  think  I  have  a  right  to  feel  highly  flat 
tered  to  be  acting  first  lieutenant  at  my  age?  This 


ON  THE  WEST  AFRICAN  COAST    105 

offer  and  the  persuasions  of  the  captain  have  induced 
me  to  give  up  my  right  to  come  home,  though  I  hate 
to  see  the  brig  sail  off  and  not  go  in  her.  It  is  some 
consolation,  though,  to  have  taken  a  slaver  at  all;  for 
we  never  expected  to  get  such  a  chance  after  we 
found  how  the  laws  worked. 

Finally  in  the  summer  of  1861  the  orders,  di 
recting  the  Sumter  to  sail  for  home,  arrived.  The 
preparations  for  the  voyage  devolved  chiefly  on 
the  first  lieutenant,  and  Perkins  appreciated  the 
fact  that  expedition  at  this  critical  time  was 
essential.  He  got  to  the  coaling  station  even 
before  the  flagship,  and  having  secured  the 
necessary  supplies  started  for  home.  It  will  be 
recalled  that  at  the  beginning  of  the  cruise  he 
had  characterized  the  ship  as  "not  very  fast" 
and  "  rather  a  mean  old  tub."  Two  years  of  con 
stant  service  with  no  chance  of  overhauling 
could  hardly  have  improved  her  sailing  quali 
ties.  However,  Perkins  showed  that  Captain 
Armstrong's  confidence  had  not  been  misplaced. 
Preparations  having  been  made,  he  tested  the 
ship's  speed  to  the  utmost;  and  favored  by  the 
weather,  he  had  what  the  newspapers  of  the  day 
spoke  of  as  the  quickest  voyage  ever  made 
between  Africa  and  the  United  States. 

The  two  years  on  the  African  coast  had  been 


io6      GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

full  of  danger,  and  few  officers  if  any  could  pas& 
through  the  experience  without  having  their 
lives  perceptibly  shortened.  Yet  the  experience 
had  not  been  without  distinct  benefit  to  Perkins. 
He  had  developed  a  taste  for  reading,  and  had 
not  only  associated  respectfully  with  Addison 
and  Sterne,  but  had  been  on  familiar  terms  with 
Trollope.  Busied  by  his  letter-writing,  shark- 
fishing,  hunting,  caring  for  pets,  visiting  native 
chiefs,  together  with  more  than  an  ordinary 
share  of  routine  work,  he  seems  to  have  had  no 
difficulty  in  avoiding  the  vices  incident  to 
monotonous  duty  on  a  lonely  station.  The  expe 
rience  had  revealed  the  strength  of  the  man,  and 
had  brought  with  it  a  deepening  of  fine  feeling 
and  an  awakening  of  responsibility.  He  might 
have  developed  this  strength  elsewhere,  but  a 
man  who  delights  in  society  and  is  sought  after 
as  was  Perkins  commonly  needs  something  of 
solitude  to  find  himself.  On  February  2,  1861,  he 
was  commissioned  lieutenant,  and  this  date  may 
be  taken  as  marking  his  entrance  upon  full 
manhood. 


CHAPTER  V 

THE  CAPTURE  OF  NEW  ORLEANS 

ON  being  detached  from  the  Sumter,  in  the 
middle  of  September,  Perkins  was  given 
one  month's  leave.  After  the  hard  and  wearing 
cruise  he  could  appreciate,  as  never  before,  rest 
and  a  little  social  gayety ;  and  there  was  no  other 
place  that  had  such  attraction  for  him  as  home. 
Stirred,  however,  by  the  dangers  threatening  the 
nation,  he  soon  became  impatient  for  active  ser 
vice,  and  it  was  with  alacrity  that  he  responded 
to  the  department's  letter  ordering  him  to  New 
York  as  first  lieutenant  of  the  gunboat  Cayuga. 

His  new  ship  was  a  screw  steamer  of  507  tons, 
carrying  six  guns.  "Not  very  well  fitted  up  for 
comfort,"  he  writes,  "though  she  is  a  fine  gun 
boat."  Of  the  officers,  none  besides  the  captain 
and  himself  had  had  any  previous  experience  in 
the  navy,  and  of  the  crew,  all  but  four  or  five 
were  green  hands.  There  were  many  busy  days 
for  the  lieutenant,  getting  the  ship  in  readiness 
before  sailing  on  February  28. 

It  soon  became  evident  that  Perkins  was  fort- 


io8      GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

unate  in  having  duty  on  the  Cayuga,  for  she  had 
orders  to  join  the  West  Gulf  Blockading  Squad 
ron  under  Farragut.  She  reached  her  station 
when  the  active  operations  against  New  Orleans 
were  about  to  begin.  The  brilliant  exploit  in 
running  past  its  defenses,  Forts  Jackson  and  St. 
Philip,  and  speedily  compelling  their  surrender, 
together  with  that  of  the  city,  ranks  in  the  naval 
events  of  the  Civil  War  only  second  to  the  fight 
between  the  Monitor  and  Merrimac.  In  this 
exploit,  the  Cayuga  was  destined  to  take  a  lead 
ing  part. 

The  following  letters,  written  by  Perkins  to 
the  home  people,  tell  of  the  progress  of  events :  — 

KEY  WEST,  March  12,  1862. 

We  arrived  here  yesterday  after  a  very  hard  pass 
age  from  New  York.  The  first  night  we  left  we  had  a 
gale  from  the  northwest,  and  it  was  very  cold.  The 
men  knew  little  about  a  man-of-war,  and  it  was  hard 
for  them;  there  was  really  great  suffering  among  us 
from  freezing.  Two  of  our  yards  were  carried  away. 
Another  gale  followed  this,  and  there  was  just  a 
series  of  them,  more  or  less  severe,  all  the  way  here. 
The  engines  were  so  strained  that  we  broke  down 
twice,  and  we  were  on  our  last  legs  when  we  got  in. 
If  I  do  my  very  best,  I  cannot  get  this  ship  in  order 
possibly  before  next  week,  though  the  commodore 
[Farragut]  is  in  a  great  hurry  to  get  us  off  and  make 
the  attack  on  New  Orleans. 


THE  CAPTURE  OF  NEW  ORLEANS  109 

SHIP  ISLAND,  March  31,  1862. 

General  Butler  is  embarking  his  troops,  and  we  all 
leave  this  evening  for  New  Orleans.  Everywhere  is 
excitement.  The  attack  will  be  made  at  once,  and 
they  say  if  it  is  successful  it  will  end  the  war. 

I  always  told  you  everything  would  be  settled  as 
soon  as  I  went  into  action,  and  now  I  expect  it  will. 
It  seems  very  strange  to  be  down  here  surrounded  by 
Rebels.  This  morning  one  of  our  gunboats  had  a 
skirmish  with  one  of  theirs  within  plain  sight  of  our 
fleet. 

The  Cayuga  while  coming  here  from  Key  West  took 
a  prize,  which  we  have  sent  back  to  New  York. 

Everyone  is  writing  home.  I  expect  my  next  letter, 
if  I  write  at  all,  will  be  dated  from  New  Orleans. 

OFF  ATCHAFALAYA,  LOUISIANA, 
April  4,  1862. 

Since  I  wrote  you  last  we  have  had  an  exciting 
time.  The  next  day  after  leaving  Ship  Island,  we 
arrived  at  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi.  There  we 
met  the  commodore  and  the  rest  of  the  fleet.  A 
number  of  his  vessels  had  bad  luck  and  got  ashore. 
The  commodore  felt  sure  of  being  able  to  take  New 
Orleans,  and  was  getting  ready  for  the  attack;  but  a 
good  many  of  the  longest-headed  officers  thought  it 
would  be  doubtful  about  his  success.  The  forts  are 
well  garrisoned,  and  they  have  a  fleet  of  gunboats 
and  some  ironclads.  Beauregard  is  there  and  the 
city  is  under  martial  law.  Because  so  many  of  our 
vessels  are  on  shore,  the  commodore  has  been  obliged 
to  delay  the  attack,  and  has  ordered  the  Cayuga  off 
this  place  to  blockade. 

This    morning    a  gunboat,  two  steamers  loaded 


no       GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

with  troops  and  guns,  and  a  schooner  with  one  gun 
sailed  over  the  reef  and  came  towards  us.  We 
cleared  ship  for  action,  and,  when  they  arrived  in 
full  sight,  hoisted  our  colors.  They  hoisted  theirs  and 
stood  for  us,  and  we  expected  a  hard  fight,  but  before 
they  arrived  within  range  we  thought  we  would  fire 
our  guns  off,  as  they  had  been  loaded  several  days, 
and  then  load  them  fresh  for  the  expected  fight.  So 
we  took  aim,  blazed  away,  and  started  for  our  ene 
mies.  But  as  soon  as  we  did  this,  they  fired  a  couple 
of  shots  at  us,  and  turned  tail  and  ran.  We  chased 
them  into  shallow  water  but  had  to  give  them  up, 
for  the  Cayuga  draws  ten  feet  and  had  nearly 
grounded.  . .  . 

We  return  to-morrow  afternoon  to  the  Mississippi 
to  get  ready  for  the  fight  at  New  Orleans.  It  must 
certainly  come  off  next  week.  If  the  commodore  had 
not  been  unlucky  about  the  ships  —  several  getting 
aground  —  it  would  have  been  all  over  by  this 
time.  .  .  . 

We  spoke  the  Connecticut  just  outside,  and  I 
received  letters  from  you,  letters  which  I  have  read 
over  many  times. 

In  spite  of  there  being  so  much  going  on  as  to  keep 
up  a  constant  excitement,  and  my  being  so  busy,  I 
am  always  thinking  of  you  at  home.  Give  my  love 
to  Aunt  Anne  and  tell  her  I  opened  her  pickles  to-day 
and  found  them  a  great  treat. 

U.S.S.  Cayuga, 
STORMING  THE  FORTS  UP  THE  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER, 

April  20,  1862. 

The  bombardment  of  the  forts  commenced  three 
days  ago;  during  the  first  day  we  were  in  close  action, 


THE  CAPTURE  OF  NEW  ORLEANS  in 

but  we  all  came  out  safe.  The  enemy's  cannon  balls 
drop  about  us  constantly.  Several  of  the  vessels  in 
the  fleet  have  been  struck  and  a  few  men  killed  and 
wounded.  To-day  or  to-morrow  we  start  up  the 
river.  The  chain  across  it  was  cut  last  night,  and  I 
have  no  doubt  but  that  the  forts  will  be  ours  before 
to-morrow  evening. 

I  have  but  a  moment  to  write.  The  Rebels  are 
continually  sending  down  fire-rafts,  and  the  bom 
bardment  from  the  mortars  goes  on  night  and  day,  so 
that  we  have  hardly  any  sleep.  I  will  write  as  soon 
as  we  reach  New  Orleans,  and  I  hope  you  are  not 
worrying,  for  by  the  time  you  get  this  everything  will 
be  over. 

Unless  we  meet  some  unforseen  obstacle,  New 
Orleans  must  fall,  though  perhaps  it  will  take  a 
week's  hard  fighting.  We  have  just  heard  that 
Captain  Bailey  has  taken  the  Cayuga  for  his  flagship, 
and  consequently  we  shall  lead  the  gunboats. 

The  passing  of  the  forts  below  New  Orleans  by 
Farragut's  fleet  was  accomplished  on  April  24, 
1862,  which  was  nearly  a  month  after  most  of 
his  ships  had  arrived  off  the  entrance  to  the 
Mississippi.  There  was  found  considerable 
difficulty  in  getting  the  largest  ships,  particu 
larly  the  Mississippi  and  the  Pensacola,  over  the 
bars  at  the  mouth  of  the  river.  They  had  to  be 
pulled  through  the  mud,  and  the  work  required 
two  weeks.  The  huge  Colorado  had  to  be  left 
outside.  She  was  the  command  of  Captain 


ii2      GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

Theodorus  Bailey,  next  to  Farragut  in  rank. 
And  that  is  why,  on  running  past  the  forts,  the 
former  officer  transferred  his  flag  to  the  little 
Cayuga  and  led  the  column  of  Union  ships  in  the 
gunboat  on  which  Perkins  was  the  first  lieuten 
ant.  When  Farragut  had  crossed  the  bars,  and 
had  assembled  seventeen  of  his  fleet  in  the  river 
above,  he  recognized  the  importance  of  an 
attack  at  the  earliest  possible  moment.  The 
enemy  had  the  greatest  confidence  in  the 
strength  of  their  position.  It  was  the  common 
opinion  that  any  attack  on  New  Orleans  must  be 
from  the  north,  made  by  a  slow  and  laborious 
progress  down  the  Mississippi  from  Cairo.  In 
consequence  the  Confederate  War  Department 
had  not  concerned  itself  with  the  necessity  of 
giving  New  Orleans  additional  protection 
against  the  threatening  movement  in  the  Gulf, 
of  which  persistent  rumors  were  received.  Not 
withstanding  this  blindness,  Farragut  had  need 
of  most  careful  planning. 

Barring  the  passage  of  the  seventeen  ships 
were  Forts  Jackson  and  St.  Philip,  mounting 
seventy-five  and  fifty-three  guns  respectively, 
and  garrisoned  each  by  700  men.1  Also  there 

1  D.  D.  Porter,  The  Naval  History  of  the  Civil  War,  p.  177. 


THE  CAPTURE  OF  NEW  ORLEANS  113 

was  a  fleet  of  eighteen  vessels,  including  the 
ironclad  rams  Manassas  and  Louisiana.  Most 
of  these  later  proved  but  frail  crafts,  but  they 
had  not  been  so  reported  to  Farragut;  and  after 
the  exploits  in  Hampton  Roads  of  the  dread  and 
invulnerable  Merrimac,  any  one  less  than  Farra 
gut  with  a  fleet  of  wooden  ships  might  indeed 
have  hesitated.  Captain  Preedy,  of  the  British 
Navy,  and  a  French  admiral,  whose  name  is  not 
recorded,  happened  to  come  down  the  river, 
after  having  just  visited  the  forts,  and  they 
freely  expressed  the  opinion  that  the  Union  ships 
would  never  succeed  in  fighting  their  way  past. 
Besides  all  this  the  defenses  of  New  Orleans 
might  in  a  few  days  be  considerably  strength 
ened  if  the  Confederate  Government  should  take 
alarm  and  hurry  men  and  supplies  to  the  scene. 
Farragut  appreciated  this  so  thoroughly  that  he 
was  willing  to  accept  grave  risks  rather  than 
make  further  long  delays. 

On  the  1 6th  of  April  the  Union  attack  began 
with  a  furious  bombardment  by  Porter's  mortar 
boats.  For  six  days  and  six  nights  this  con 
tinued,  and  about  2800  shells  were  fired  every 
twenty-four  hours.  After  two  or  three  days  of 
the  bombardment,  Farragut,  convinced  that  the 


ii4      GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

Confederate  defenses  could  not  be  reduced  by 
this  means,  determined  to  stake  his  all  on  a 
single  desperate  move  and  run  past  the  forts. 
As  Farragut  was  well  aware,  if  he  were  driven 
back,  he  could  hardly  expect  to  escape  without 
the  loss  of  several  ships.  Or  if  only  a  few  ships 
passed  above  the  forts,  the  strong  Confederate 
defenses  to  the  rear  would  effectively  cut  them 
off  from  their  base  of  supplies,  thus  placing  them 
in  a  weak  military  position  and  making  any 
protracted  campaign  impossible.  On  the  other 
hand,  if  he  should  succeed  in  taking  most  of  the 
ships  above  the  forts,  he  could  capture  New 
Orleans,  cut  off  the  supplies  to  the  forts,  and 
move  against  them  from  above  as  well  as  from 
below,  with  the  cooperation  of  18,000  troops 
under  General  Butler  accompanying  the  expedi 
tion. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  April  24  the  fleet  made 
the  attempt.  At  two  o'clock  two  red  lights  dis 
played  from  Farragut's  ship,  the  Hartford,  gave 
the  signal  to  weigh  anchors,  take  prescribed 
places,  and  advance.  Almost  instantly  the 
clanking  of  anchor  chains  and  the  suppressed 
bustle  throughout  the  fleet  showed  that  the 
final  movement  against  New  Orleans  had  begun. 


THE  CAPTURE  OF  NEW  ORLEANS  115 

The  first  ship  to  pass  through  the  chain  barrier 
and  to  steam  under  the  guns  of  Forts  Jackson 
and  St.  Philip  was  the  Cayuga.  Standing  in  an 
exposed  position  on  the  forecastle  of  the  Cayuga, 
indifferent  to  the  storm  of  shot  and  shrapnel 
from  the  forts  and  giving  rapid  orders  in  his 
sharp,  incisive  manner  was  George  Perkins.  He 
had  been  directed  to  act  as  pilot,  and  virtually 
was  in  command  of  the  ship. 

The  Union  fleet  was  moving  in  one  long 
column,  made  up  of  three  divisions.  Farragut's 
division  was  the  center,  and  was  composed  of 
the  three  strongest  ships,  sloops  of  war,  with  the 
Hartford,  as  the  flagship.  This  was  preceded  by 
the  First  Division,  comprising  four  gunboats, 
one  side-wheeler,  and  three  sloops  of  war,  under 
Captain  Bailey.  The  Cayuga,  which  he  had 
chosen  for  his  flagship,  was  much  smaller  and 
more  lightly  armed  than  either  the  Pensacola  or 
Mississippi,  which  followed  next. 

Twenty-five  minutes  after  the  Cayuga  had 
begun  the  attack,  the  Hartford,  leading  the 
Second  Division,  was  opening  with  her  bow  guns 
on  Fort  Jackson.  The  darkness  and  smoke 
rendered  it  impossible  for  the  gunners  in  the 
forts  to  secure  an  accurate  aim,  but  also  made  it 


ii6      GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

difficult  for  the  Union  ships  to  keep  their  course 
or  to  distinguish  friend  from  foe.  Suddenly  out 
of  the  gloom  and  confusion,  Farragut  saw  a  fire- 
raft  coming  directly  for  his  ship.  To  avoid  the 
raft  he  put  his  helm  over,  whereupon  the  Hart" 
ford  grounded  on  a  shoal  near  Fort  St.  Philip. 
Under  the  heavy  fire  of  the  shore  batteries,  she 
was  in  a  trying  position,  and  still  worse,  the 
Mosher,  a  Confederate  tugboat  until  then 
unnoticed,  was  pushing  a  fire-raft  down  upon 
her.  In  an  instant  the  port  quarter  of  the  Hart- 
ford  was  a  mass  of  flames,  which  were  licking  the 
paint  and  rising  halfway  to  the  top.  It  was  a 
moment  full  of  destiny,  but  Farragut  was  equal 
to  the  crisis.  Although  as  he  remarked  after 
wards  he  "seemed  to  be  breathing  flames,"  with 
a  calm  self-possession  he  reassured  his  men,  and 
each  with  alacrity  did  his  part  in  carrying  out 
the  orders.  The  ship's  guns  drove  off  the  tug, 
and  kept  playing  on  the  forts ;  the  well-organized 
fire  company  put  out  the  flames;  the  engines 
backed  the  ship  off  the  shoal;  and  again  she 
headed  up  the  river. 

The  Brooklyn  and  the  Mississippi,  while  run 
ning  past  the  forts,  had  successively  a  sharp 
engagement  with  the  Confederate  ironclad  ram 


THE  CAPTURE  OF  NEW  ORLEANS  117 

Manassas,  the  Mississippi  not  leaving  her  foe 
until  the  ram  had  run  ashore  and  her  crew  had 
escaped  to  the  swamp.  The  executive  officer  of 
the  Mississippi  happened  to  be  Perkins's  friend 
of  Academy  days,  Lieutenant  George  Dewey, 
the  future  admiral.  The  Varuna  was  the  only 
one  of  Farragut's  ships  lost  in  the  battle;  after 
safely  passing  the  forts  she  encountered  the 
Confederate  gunboats,  and  being  considerably 
in  advance  of  most  of  the  fleet  she  was  rammed 
by  the  Gov.  Moore,  and  obliged  to  run  ashore  to 
prevent  sinking.  Three  of  Farragut/s  vessels 
bringing  up  the  rear  of  the  column  were  not  able 
to  stand  the  fire  of  the  forts  and  turned  back. 
Each  of  the  thirteen  that  succeeded  in  passing 
had  its  adventures,  but  none  were  more  thrilling 
than  those  of  the  Cayuga,  and  fortunately  we 
have  a  simple,  unstudied  account  of  them  in  a 
letter  that  Perkins  wrote  home  after  the  battle. 

NEW  ORLEANS,  April  27,  1862. 

We  arrived  here  two  days  ago,  and  after  what  was 
"the  most  desperate  fight  and  greatest  naval  achieve 
ment  on  record,"  so  every  one  says.  Wednesday 
night,  April  23,  we  were  ordered  to  lead  the  way,  and 
be  ready  to  run  by  the  forts  at  two  o'clock  in  the 
morning;  and  at  two  o'clock  precisely  the  signal  was 
made  from  the  Hartford  to  "get  under  way." 


ii8       GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

Captain  Harrison  paid  me  the  compliment  of 
letting  me  pilot  the  vessel.  It  was  a  starlight  night, 
but  we  were  not  discovered  until  we  were  well  under 
the  forts;  then  they  opened  a  tremendous  fire  on  us. 
I  was  very  anxious,  for  the  steering  of  the  vessel  being 
under  my  charge  gave  me  really  the  whole  manage 
ment  of  her.  The  Cayuga  received  the  first  fire,  and 
the  air  was  filled  with  shells  and  explosions,  which 
almost  blinded  me  as  I  stood  on  the  forecastle  trying 
to  see  my  way,  for  I  had  never  been  up  the  river 
before.  As  I  soon  saw  that  the  guns  of  the  forts  were 
all  aimed  for  the  midstream,  I  steered  close  under  the 
walls  of  Fort  St.  Philip,  and  although  our  masts  and 
rigging  got  badly  shot  through,  our  hull  was  but  little 
damaged. 

After  passing  the  last  battery  and  thinking  we  were 
clear,  I  looked  back  for  some  of  our  vessels,  and  my 
heart  jumped  into  my  mouth  when  I  found  I  could 
not  see  a  single  one.  I  thought  they  all  must  have 
been  sunk  by  the  forts.  Then  looking  ahead  I  saw 
eleven  of  the  enemy's  gunboats  coming  down  upon 
us,  and  it  seemed  as  if  we  were  "gone"  sure.  Three 
of  these  made  a  dash  to  board  us,  but  a  heavy  charge 
from  our  n-inch  gun  settled  the  Gov.  Moore,  which 
was  one  of  them.  A  ram,  the  Manassas,  in  attempt 
ing  to  butt  us,  just  missed  our  stern,  and  we  soon 
settled  the  third  fellow's  "hash."  Just  then  some  of 
our  gunboats,  which  had  passed  the  forts,  came  up, 
and  then  all  sorts  of  things  happened.  There  was  the 
wildest  excitement  all  round.  The  Varuna  fired  a 
broadside  into  us,  instead  of  the  enemy.  Another  of 
our  gunboats  attacked  one  of  the  Cayuga' 's  prizes,  — 
I  shouted  out,  "Don't  fire  into  that  ship,  she  has 
surrendered!"  Three  of  the  enemy's  ships  had  sur- 


THE  CAPTURE  OF  NEW  ORLEANS  119 

rendered  to  us  before  any  of  our  vessels  appeared,  but 
when  they  did  come  up  we  all  pitched  in,  and  settled 
the  eleven  Rebel  vessels,  in  about  twenty  minutes. 
Our  short  fight  with  the  Gov.  Moore  —  it  used  to  be 
the  Morgan  —  was  very  exciting.  We  were  alongside 
of  each  other,  and  had  both  fired  our  guns,  and  it  all 
depended  on  which  should  get  reloaded  first.  The 
large  forward  gun  on  the  Gov.  Moore  was  a  loinch 
shell,  ours  an  n-inch,  and  we  were  so  near  they  were 
almost  muzzle  to  muzzle. 

Ours  was  fired  first,  and  Beverly  Kennon,  the 
captain  of  the  Gov.  Moore,  is  now  a  prisoner  on  board 
the  Cayuga.  He  tells  me  our  shot  was  the  one  that 
ruined  him,  —  disabled  his  vessel,  capsized  his  gun, 
and  killed  thirteen  of  the  gun's  crew.  Beverly  Ken 
non  used  to  be  an  officer  in  our  navy. 

The  Cayuga  still  led  the  way  up  the  river,  and  at 
daylight  we  discovered  a  regiment  of  infantry  en 
camped  on  shore.  As  we  were  very  close  in,  I  shouted 
to  them  to  come  on  board  and  deliver  up  their  arms, 
or  we  would  blow  them  all  to  pieces.  It  seemed 
rather  odd  for  a  regiment  on  shore  to  be  surrender 
ing  to  a  ship.  They  hauled  down  their  colors,  and 
the  colonel  and  command  came  on  board  and  gave 
themselves  up  as  prisoners  of  war.  The  regiment 
was  called  the  Chalmette  regiment,  and  has  been 
a  rather  famous  one.  The  officers  we  released  on 
parole  and  allowed  them  to  retain  their  side-arms,  all 
except  one  captain,  who  I  discovered  was  from  New 
Hampshire.  His  name  is  Hickery,  and  he  came  from 
Portsmouth.  I  took  his  sword  away  from  him  and 
have  kept  it. 

The  next  thing  that  happened  was  the  sinking  of 
the  Varuna,  which  had  been  disabled  by  one  of  the 


120      GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

enemy's  vessels  running  into  her.  Soon  after  this  the 
commodore  came  up  in  the  Hartford  and  ordered  us 
all  to  anchor  and  take  a  little  rest  before  attack 
ing  New  Orleans,  which  was  now  within  twenty 
miles. 

By  this  time  our  ship  had  received  thirty-two 
shots  in  masts  and  hull,  and  six  of  our  men  had  been 
wounded;  one  of  the  boys  had  to  have  a  leg  cut  off. 
All  this  time,  night  and  day,  fire-rafts  and  ships 
loaded  with  burning  cotton  had  been  coming  down 
the  river  and  surrounding  us  everywhere.  Besides 
these,  the  bombardment  was  continuous  and  per 
fectly  awful.  I  do  not  believe  there  ever  was  any 
thing  like  it  before,  and  I  never  expect  to  see  such  a 
sight  again.  The  river  and  shore  were  one  blaze,  and 
the  sounds  and  explosions  were  terrific.  Nothing  I 
could  say  would  give  you  any  idea  of  these  last 
twenty-four  hours. 

At  four  the  next  morning,  April  25,  we  all  got 
under  way  again,  the  Cayuga  still  leading,  and  at 
about  nine  o'clock  New  Orleans  hove  in  sight.  We 
called  all  hands  and  gave  three  cheers  and  a  tiger! 

There  were  two  more  fortifications  still  between  us 
and  New  Orleans,  called  the  Chalmette  batteries,  but 
Captain  Bailey  thought  they  could  not  be  of  much 
account,  and  that  we  had  best  push  on.  When  we 
arrived  in  sight  of  these  batteries,  no  flag  floated  over 
them,  and  there  was  not  a  man  to  be  seen  —  nothing 
but  the  guns,  which  seemed  abandoned.  In  fact, 
though,  there  were  a  lot  of  treacherous  rascals  con 
cealed  in  these  batteries,  and  when  we  had  come  close 
enough  to  make  them  feel  sure  they  could  sink  us, 
they  opened  a  heavy  fire.  We  gave  them  back  as  well 
as  we  could,  but  they  were  too  much  for  one  gunboat; 


THE  CAPTURE  OF  NEW  ORLEANS  121 

so,  after  getting  hit  fourteen  times,  the  shot  and  shell 
striking  all  about  us,  we  decided  not  to  advance  any 
farther  until  some  of  the  ships  came  up.  Soon  we  had 
the  Hartford  on  one  side  and  the  Pensacola  on  the 
other,  and  then  the  Rebel  battery  was  silenced  very 
quick. 

After  this  there  were  no  further  obstacles  between 
us  and  the  city,  and  the  fleet  were  soon  anchored  be 
fore  it.  Captain  Bailey  was  ordered  to  go  on  shore, 
and  demand  its  surrender,  and  he  asked  me  to  go 
with  him.  We  took  just  a  boat  and  a  boat's  crew, 
with  a  flag  of  truce,  and  started  off.  When  we 
reached  the  wharf  there  were  no  officials  to  be  seen; 
no  one  received  us,  although  the  whole  city  was 
watching  our  movements,  and  the  levee  was  crowded 
in  spite  of  a  heavy  rainstorm. 

They  were  all  shouting  and  hooting  as  we  stepped 
on  shore,  but  at  last  a  man,  who,  I  think,  was  a 
German,  offered  to  show  us  the  way  to  the  council- 
room,  where  we  should  find  the  mayor  of  the  city. 

As  we  advanced  the  mob  followed  us  in  a  very 
excited  state.  They  gave  three  cheers  for  Jeff  Davis 
and  Beauregard,  and  three  groans  for  Lincoln.  Then 
they  began  to  throw  things  at  us,  and  shout,  "Hang 
them!"  "Hang  them!"  We  both  thought  we  were  in 
a  bad  fix,  but  there  was  nothing  for  us  to  do  but  just 
go  on. 

We  reached  the  city  hall,  though,  in  safety,  and 
there  we  found  the  mayor  and  council.  The  mayor 
said  he  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  city,  as  it  was 
under  martial  law,  and  we  were  obliged  to  wait  till 
General  Lovell  could  arrive. 

In  about  half  an  hour  this  gentleman  appeared  — 
by  the  way  he  is  a  perfect  snob.  He  had  about  15,000 


122      GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

troops  under  his  command,  and  said  he  would 
"never  surrender,"  but  would  withdraw  his  troops 
from  the  city  as  soon  as  possible,  when  the  city  would 
fall  into  the  hands  of  the  mayor  and  he  could  do  as  he 
pleased  with  it. 

The  mob  had  by  this  time  become  perfectly 
infuriated.  They  kicked  at  the  doors  and  swore  they 
would  have  us  out  and  hang  us.  Of  course  Captain 
Bailey  and  I  felt  perfectly  at  our  ease  all  this  while! 
Indeed,  every  person  about  us,  who  had  any  sense  of 
responsibility,  was  frightened  for  our  safety.  As  soon 
as  the  mob  found  out  that  General  Lovell  was  not 
going  to  surrender,  they  swore  they  would  have  us 
out  anyway;  but  Pierre  Soule  and  some  others  went 
out  and  made  speeches  to  them,  and  kept  them  on 
one  side  of  the  building  while  we  went  out  the  other, 
and  were  driven  to  the  wharf  in  a  closed  carriage. 
Finally  we  got  on  board  ship  all  right;  but  of  all  the 
blackguarding  I  ever  heard  in  my  life  that  mob  gave 
us  the  worst. 

The  mayor  told  the  flag-officer  this  morning  that 
the  city  was  in  the  hands  of  the  mob,  and  was  at  our 
mercy,  and  that  we  might  blow  it  up  or  do  with  it  as 
we  chose.  They  still  fly  the  State  flag  on  the  custom 
house,  and  as  we  have  not  yet  any  forces  with  which 
to  land  and  make  an  attack,  we  can  do  nothing  at 
present,  unless  we  blow  up  the  city. 

I  do  not  know  where  General  Butler  is.  So  far,  only 
fourteen  of  our  fleet  have  passed  the  forts  out  of  all 
the  ships  that  started.  None  of  us  know  what  has 
become  of  them  and  the  forts  have  not  yet  sur 
rendered.  Until  then,  there  can  be  no  going  up  and 
down  the  river. 

This  morning  we  have  been  ordered  to  take  Cap- 


THE  CAPTURE  OF  NEW  ORLEANS  123 

tain  Bailey  down  to  a  bayou,  where  he  will  pass  out  in 
a  boat,  and  taking  a  ship  below  will  proceed  home,  as 
bearer  of  despatches. 

We  expect  to  make  another  attack  on  the  forts 
to-morrow  or  next  day  if  General  Butler  arrives  with 
the  troops.  The  Southerners  say  our  victory  was  one 
of  the  greatest  ever  known.  They  never  dreamed  of 
our  being  able  to  pass  the  forts;  and  if  the  attempt 
had  been  made  in  the  daytime  our  fleet  must  surely 
all  have  been  sunk.  We  may  be  in  a  bad  fix  now,  if 
the  forts  do  not  fall,  and  it  is  not  safe  for  any  one  to 
leave  our  ships  and  go  anywhere  in  a  boat.  The  mob 
rule  in  the  city,  and  they  are  perfectly  reckless.  We 
are  still  feeling  the  effects  of  the  excitement  which  the 
attack  caused.  Nothing  is  settled,  and  there  is  danger 
and  risk  about  every  movement. 

I  have  written  this  letter  at  railroad  speed.  I  am 
all  right  so  far,  as  regards  my  health.  We  expect 
another  good  fight  to-morrow  or  next  day,  when  we 
go  back  to  take  the  forts. 

I  hope  you  are  all  well  at  home.  You  must  excuse 
this  letter,  for  it  seems  as  though  I  could  not  stop  to 
form  words.  Should  I  ever  see  you  again  I  can  tell  it 
all  so  much  better.  I  cannot  say  yet  how  many  men 
have  been  lost  on  our  side,  but  I  think  the  number  is 
rather  small. 


If  Bailey  and  Perkins  on  going  to  the  mayor 
had  taken  an  ordinary  guard  with  them,  a  con 
flict  with  the  excited  populace  would  have 
been  inevitable;  and  women  and  children,  who 
formed  no  small  part  of  the  crowd,  would  have 


I24      GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

been  among  the  victims.  George  W.  Cable,  the 
novelist,  was  a  boy  living  in  New  Orleans  at  this 
time,  and  he  records  the  impression  made  on 
him  as  he  saw  two  unarmed  officers  walk  alone 
through  the  mob,  daunting  even  the  most  vio 
lent  by  their  extraordinary  courage. 

What  a  gathering!  The  riff-raff  of  the  wharves,  the 
town,  the  gutters.  Such  women  —  such  wrecks  of 
women!  And  all  the  juvenile  rag-tag.  .  .  .  The 
crowd  on  the  levee  howled  and  screamed  with  rage. 
The  swarming  decks  answered  never  a  word;  but  one 
old  tar  on  the  Hartford,  standing  with  lanyard  in 
hand  beside  a  great  pivot-gun,  so  plain  to  view  that 
you  could  see  him  smile,  silently  patted  its  big  black 
breech  and  blandly  grinned. 

And  now  the  rain  came  down  in  sheets.  About  one 
or  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  (as  I  remember),  I 
being  again  in  the  store  with  but  one  door  ajar,  there 
came  a  roar  of  shoutings  and  imprecations  and 
crowding  feet  down  Common  Street.  "Hurrah  for 
Jeff  Davis!  Hurrah  for  Jeff  Davis!  Shoot  them! 
Kill  them!  Hang  them!"  I  locked  the  door  on  the 
outside  and  ran  to  the  front  of  the  mob,  calling  with 
the  rest,  "Hurrah  for  Jeff  Davis!"  About  every 
third  man  had  a  weapon  out.  Two  officers  of  the 
United  States  Navy  were  walking  abreast,  unguarded 
and  alone,  looking  not  to  right  or  left,  never  frowning, 
never  flinching,  while  the  mob  screamed  in  their 
ears,  shook  cocked  pistols  in  their  faces,  cursed  and 
crowded,  and  gnashed  upon  them.  So  through  the 
gates  of  death  those  two  men  walked  to  the  City  Hall 


THE  CAPTURE  OF  NEW  ORLEANS  125 

to  demand  the  town's  surrender.   It  was  one  of  the 
bravest  deeds  I  ever  saw  done.1 

The  scene  of  the  approaching  ships  and  of  the 
visit  made  by  the  two  Union  officers  upon  the 
mayor  of  the  city  is  also  described  with  a  strong 
tincture  of  Confederate  feeling  in  the  New 
Orleans  Democrat,  for  which  I  am  indebted  to 
Miss  Susan  Perkins. 

Slowly  and  majestically  the  large  steamers  moved 
on  until  they  rounded  the  bend  and  entered  the 
crescent  part  of  the  city.  There  a  scene  confronted 
them  which  must  have  been  little  gratifying  to  their 
highest  instincts,  how  much  soever  it  may  have 
pampered  the  pride  of  physical  force  and  the  exulta 
tion  of  victory  over  a  defenseless  but  intrepid  foe. 

There  lay  the  sullen  and  gloomy  city,  still  smoking 
with  the  patriotic  conflagration  by  which  it  had 
destroyed  everything  that  might  minister  to  the  pride 
and  avarice  of  the  enemy.  Its  long  levee  and  vast 
wharves,  bare  of  everything  that  usually  appertains 
to  a  great  commercial  city,  and  now  densely  packed 
by  a  multitude  of  frowning,  defiant,  frantic  men, 
women,  and  children.  This  multitude  seemed  to  be 
moved  by  one  impulse,  one  passion,  by  one  bitter, 
burning,  inextinguishable  hate.  .  .  . 

Just  as  the  fleet  had  taken  position  to  anchor,  a  sud 
den  storm  blew  up  and  the  rain  began  to  fall  with  great 
violence,  dispersing  or  greatly  reducing  the  crowd  on 

1  Century  Company's  Battles  and  Leaders  of  the  Civil  War, 

Vol.  II,  pp.  20,  21. 


126      GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

the  levee.  This  rain  continued  for  some  hours.  In 
the  midst  of  it  a  boat  was  seen  to  put  off  from  a 
ship.  It  landed  at  the  foot  of  Laurel  Street,  where 
a  large  crowd  quickly  gathered.  Out  of  the  boat 
stepped  an  elderly,  corpulent  officer  with  a  very  red 
face,  a  grave  expression,  and  an  air  of  command.  He 
wore  his  sword,  and  was  accompanied  by  a  young  and 
handsome  naval  officer.  These  proved  to  be  Captain 
Bailey,  second  in  command  of  the  fleet,  and  Lieuten 
ant  Perkins.  They  asked  the  direction  to  the  mayor's 
office.  There  was  no  one  in  the  crowd  to  answer. 
They  were  told  to  find  their  own  way.  Accordingly 
they  started  up  the  street,  in  the  pelting,  furious 
rain,  followed  by  the  crowd,  which  increased  in  their 
progress,  yelling  and  shouting,  "Down  with  the 
Yankees!"  "Kill  them!"  "Hang  them!" 

Several  citizens  here  rushed  forward  to  protect  the 
officers.  They  were  repelled  and  roughly  handled  by 
the  furious  mob.  The  Federal  officers  were  in  great 
danger.  At  last  two  venerable  and  much  respected 
citizens  —  William  Freret  and  L.  E.  Forstall,  a  mem 
ber  of  the  city  council  —  made  their  way  through 
the  crowd,  which  was  threatening  the  officers  with 
speedy  destruction,  and  each  seizing  the  arm  of  one 
of  the  officers  conducted  them  in  safety  to  the 
mayor's  office. 

The  mayor  with  his  friends,  several  members  of  the 
city  government,  several  prominent  citizens,  includ 
ing  Mr.  Soule,  were  present  when  Captain  Theodorus 
Bailey  and  Lieutenant  Perkins  were  introduced. 
Meantime  a  vast  and  excited  crowd  had  collected 
around  the  city  hall,  whose  shouts  and  cries  could 
be  distinctly  heard  within.  Captain  Bailey  quickly 
stated  his  mission  to  the  mayor.  He  came  by  order 


THE  CAPTURE  OF  NEW  ORLEANS  127 

of  Commodore  Farragut,  commanding  the  fleet  now 
in  the  port,  to  demand  the  surrender  of  the  city  and 
the  elevation  of  the  flag  over  the  custom-house,  the 
mint,  the  post-office,  and  the  city  hall. 

The  mayor  replied:  "I  am  not  the  military  com 
mander  of  the  city.  I  have  no  authority  to  surrender 
it,  and  would  not  do  it  if  I  had.  There  is  a  military 
commander  now  in  the  city,  who  is  charged  by  the 
Confederate  States  with  the  defenses  of  the  city.  To 
him  your  command  must  be  addressed.  I  will  send 
for  him  if  you  desire."  Captain  Bailey  assented,  and 
a  messenger  was  despatched  for  General  Lovell. 

Presently  there  was  a  hurrah  without  —  a  parting 
of  the  crowd  —  and  Major-General  Lovell  made  his 
way  up  the  steps  and  into  the  mayor's  office.  He  was 
introduced  to  Captain  Bailey,  who  declared  his 
character  and  credentials,  as  second  in  command  of 
the  United  States  fleet  now  before  the  city. 

General  Lovell  —  "I  am  Major-General  Lovell, 
Confederate  Commander  of  this  Department." 

Captain  Bailey  then  stated  his  mission  in  the  same 
terms  as  he  had  made  it  known  to  the  mayor,  adding 
that  he  was  instructed  by  Commodore  Farragut  to 
express  his  great  regret  at  the  destruction  of  private 
property  in  the  city. 

General  Lovell  —  "  In  reply  to  his  demand,  say  to 
Commodore  Farragut  that  I  decline  to  surrender  the 
city,  nor  will  I  allow  it  to  be  surrendered;  that  being 
unable  to  fight  him  on  water,  I  have  sent  my  troops 
out  of  the  city;  that  there  are  now  no  armed  troops  in 
the  city,  nothing  but  women  and  children,  and  if  he 
desires  to  shell  them  he  can  do  so  on  his  own  respon 
sibility,"  etc.,  etc. 

Lovell  finally  closed  by  saying  that  he  would  retire 


128      GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

and  leave  the  city  authorities  to  pursue  their  own 
course  in  the  matter.  For  himself  he  would  go  back 
to  the  army  with  which  he  would  be  happy  to  meet 
them  in  fair  and  equal  combat. 

Captain  Bailey  replied,  and  again  said  how  much 
Commodore  Farragut  regretted  to  see  so  much  prop 
erty  uselessly  destroyed. 

General  Lovell  —  "It  was  done  by  my  orders, 
sir!"  With  this  the  interview  terminated.  Captain 
Bailey  requested  an  escort  back  to  his  boat  as  a  pro 
tection  against  the  mob,  who  seemed  to  be  very 
violent  and  threatening.  It  was  suggested  they  be 
taken  out  through  the  rear  of  the  building  in  charge 
of  two  Confederate  majors,  while  Mr.  Soule  and 
General  Lovell  addressed  the  crowd  in  front. 

General  Lovell  restored  the  authority  to  the 
city  officials  as  he  had  promised.  To  Farragut's 
further  demand  for  the  surrender  of  the  city, 
and  the  hauling  down  of  the  flag  of  Louisiana 
from  the  city  hall,  Mayor  Monroe  made  various 
evasive  replies.  It  was  finally  a  Union  officer, 
instead  of  a  Confederate,  who  lowered  the  ob 
jectionable  flag,  but  Farragut  by  quiet  insist 
ence  had  gained  the  recognition  of  Federal 
supremacy. 

On  the  2Qth,  Captain  Bailey,  who  had  gone 
down  the  river,  brought  back  welcome  news  of 
the  surrender  of  Forts  Jackson  and  St.  Philip. 
There  had  been  hardly  the  necessity  for  immedi- 


THE  CAPTURE  OF  NEW  ORLEANS  129 

ate  capitulation.  The  end  was  hastened  by 
mutiny  in  the  forts,  where  a  considerable  pro 
portion  of  the  defenders  are  said  to  have  been 
foreigners. 

The  events  of  the  last  week  of  April  were  a 
surprising  reversal  of  what  the  Confederates  had 
expected.  They  had  put  such  unlimited  confi 
dence  in  their  impregnable  forts  that  many  were 
delighted  when  they  discovered  that  the  Union 
fleet  was  attempting  to  run  past  the  forts,  be 
lieving  that  Farragut  was  leading  his  ships  into  a 
certain  trap.  How  quickly  they  were  undeceived 
is  shown  by  a  remark  of  Colonel  Higgins,  of  Fort 
Jackson,  who  seeing  the  large  ships  of  Farragut's 
division  pass  in  safety  exclaimed,  "Better  go  to 
cover,  boys;  our  cake  is  all  dough!  The  old  navy 
has  won!"  1 

The  capture  of  New  Orleans  was  of  tremend 
ous  importance  to  the  Union.  This  city  was  not 
only  the  largest  and  richest  in  the  South,  but  an 
extremely  valuable  center  of  supplies,  drawn 
from  Louisiana,  Arkansas,  and  Texas,  and  sent 
on  to  the  armies  in  Virginia  and  elsewhere. 
When  the  Union  forces  had  taken  New  Orleans 
and  its  defenses,  as  well  as  Island  No.  10,  Fort 

1  D.  D.  Porter,  The  Naval  History  of  the  Civil  War,  p.  183. 


130       GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

Pillow,  and  Memphis,  —  all  the  achievements  of 
spring,  1862,  —  they  had  accomplished  a  large 
part  of  the  difficult  project  of  gaining  control  of 
the  Mississippi.  With  the  capture  of  Vicksburg 
and  Port  Hudson  the  following  year,  the  project 
was  completed  and  the  Confederacy  was  split  in 
two. 

The  capture  of  New  Orleans  also  had  an 
important  significance  in  our  relations  with 
Europe.  It  deterred  France  from  action  most 
unfavorable  to  the  United  States.  Louis  Napo 
leon  had  already  suggested  to  England  the  advis 
ability  of  recognizing  the  Confederate  States, 
and  just  as  Farragut  was  opening  fire  on  Forts 
Jackson  and  St.  Philip  he  was  conferring  with 
Mr.  Lindsay,  a  member  of  the  British  Parlia 
ment  and  a  Southern  sympathizer.  The  Em 
peror  expressed  the  opinion  that  the  restoration 
of  the  Union  was  impossible,  and  deprecating 
the  continuation  of  the  war,  he  assured  Mr. 
Lindsay  that  he  would  send  a  formidable  fleet  to 
the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi  if  England  would 
cooperate  with  a  like  force,  and  they  would 
demand  free  passage  for  their  merchant  ships 
bringing  in  supplies  and  taking  out  cotton.1  Had 

1  North  American  Review,  vol.  cxxix,  p.  346. 


THE  CAPTURE  OF  NEW  ORLEANS  131 

the  Government  been  coerced  into  abandoning 
the  blockade  of  the  Southern  ports,  it  is  doubtful 
if  it  could  ever  have  brought  the  war  to  a  suc 
cessful  termination. 

The  Cayuga,  after  the  object  of  the  expedition 
had  been  accomplished,  was  ordered  North, 
carrying  Captain  Bailey,  the  bearer  of  official 
reports.  She  left  on  the  2Qth  of  April,  when  not 
only  had  the  forts  surrendered  but  the  flag  of  the 
Union  was  flying  from  the  top  of  the  custom 
house  in  New  Orleans.  On  May  8  she  passed 
Cape  Henry  and  proceeded  up  to  Hampton 
Roads. 

Commodore  Phythian,  who  happened  to  be 
there  at  this  time,  tells  how  his  feelings  were 
stirred  as  he  heard  the  details  of  the  battle  and 
saw  the  riddled  gunboat.  The  scars  of  the  con 
flict  were  everywhere  apparent,  and  they  bore 
evidence  of  the  courage  of  the  lieutenant  who 
stood  on  her  forecastle  and  guided  the  ship 
through  the  fiery  storm. 

The  conduct  of  Lieutenant  Perkins  did  not 
fail  of  recognition  on  the  part  of  his  superior 
officers.  Lieutenant  Commanding  Harrison,  in 
his  report  of  April  24  to  Captain  Bailey, 
says :  - 


132       GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

It  is  needless  for  me  to  inform  you,  who  had  us 
under  your  own  eye,  that  all  did  their  duty  fearlessly 
and  well,  but  I  must  commend  to  your  especial  notice 
my  executive  officer,  Lieutenant  George  H.  Perkins. 
The  remarkable  coolness  and  precision  of  this  young 
officer  while  aiding  me  in  steering  the  vessel  through 
the  barrier  and  past  the  forts  under  their  long  and 
heavy  fire,  must  have  attracted  your  attention.1 

Captain  Bailey  mentioned  his  gallantry  with 
that  of  Lieutenant  Commanding  Harrison  and 
Acting  Master  Morton  in  his  report  to  Flag- 
Officer  Farragut,  saying  in  conclusion,  "These 
officers  have  my  unbounded  admiration."  2 

In  Frank  Leslie's  Illustrated  Newspaper,  pub 
lished  May  31,  1862,  there  appeared  a  spirited 
sketch  by  their  artist,  William  Waud,  who  was 
on  the  spot,  representing  "The  Landing  of  Cap 
tain  Bailey  and  Lieutenant  Perkins  on  the  levee 
with  a  flag  of  truce  to  demand  the  surrender  of 
the  city."  The  New  Hampshire  Patriot  of  May 
14,  1862,  commended  his  service  in  the  highest 
terms,  but  no  praise  could  be  more  pleasing  to 
him  than  a  letter  from  his  mother  :  — 

I  hear  you  very  highly  spoken  of  by  every  one. 
Your  father  was  introduced  to  Professor  Patterson  as 
the  "father  of  Lieutenant  Perkins  of  the  Cayuga" 

1  Naval  War  Records,  vol.  xvm,  p.  174.  *  Ibid.,  p.  171. 


THE  CAPTURE  OF  NEW  ORLEANS  133 

Professor  Patterson  at  once  said  he  was  familiar  with 
your  name  and  had  seen  an  account  of  your  bravery 
in  the  papers.  I  suppose  now  we  shall  be  known  as 
the  relatives  of  the  brave  Lieutenant  Perkins.  I 
confess  I  do  not  realize  you  as  famous.  You  seem  to 
me  the  same  little  boy  I  used  to  scold  about  his 
spelling.  The  mothers  all  say  you  are  so  fortunate 
because  you  are  so  good  and  thoughtful  of  me. 


CHAPTER  VI 

IN  THE  WEST  GULF  BLOCKADING  SQUADRON 

THROUGHOUT  the  war  Perkins  was,  with 
one  brief  respite,  in  the  lower  Mississippi 
or  on  the  Gulf  coast.  During  the  two  years  fol 
lowing  the  capture  of  New  Orleans  he  saw  no 
engagement  of  note,  but  he  had  an  active  part 
in  the  great  blockade  that  was  finally  to  force  the 
South,  exhausted,  to  give  up  the  contest. 

From  Hampton  Roads  the  Cayuga  went  to 
New  York  and  was  there  nearly  a  month  under 
going  repairs.  This  afforded  Perkins  opportun 
ity  for  a  few  days  at  home,  and  it  is  easy  to 
imagine  the  enthusiasm  with  which  he  was 
received. 

Soon  he  was  again  in  New  York,  and  he 
writes :  — 

I  have  had  a  letter  from  Captain  Harrison  telling 
me  that  he  is  not  coming  back  to  his  ship,  and  that  he 
has  applied  for  me  at  the  department,  but  I  hardly 
think  I  shall  be  detached. 

Commander  Donald  M.  Fairfax  succeeded  to 
the  command  of  the  Cayuga.  He  was  an  officer 


IN  THE  WEST  GULF  SQUADRON    135 

of  fine  type,  also  an  old  friend  of  Perkins.    He 
writes  to  Perkins :  - 

I  was  gratified  yesterday  to  learn  through  Temple 
that  you  are  still  attached  to  the  Cayuga,  and  are 
willing  —  learning  that  I  am  detailed  to  command 
her  —  to  remain  as  her  executive  officer.  I  receive  it 
as  a  compliment  that  my  joining  her  determined  you 
on  staying  by  the  little  gunboat  that  acted  so  import 
ant  a  part  in  the  great  naval  battle  in  the  Mississippi. 

Really  it  is  the  bright  feature  in  joining  to  find  you 
the  first  lieutenant;  without  flattery  I  say  it,  you  are 
my  choice.  I  shall  be  content  to  lie  on  my  oars  and 
give  you  full  charge.  So  go  ahead  and  do  anything 
you  think  is  necessary,  as  though  really  captain. 

The  following  letter  written  by  Perkins  to  his 
mother  tells  of  the  days  in  New  York  before 
sailing:  — 

Cayuga,  BROOKLYN,  June  4,  1862. 

We  are  ordered  to  report  to  Commodore  Far- 
ragut,  and  I  think  we  shall  be  in  time  to  assist  in 
taking  Mobile.  After  that,  most  of  the  hard  work 
will  be  over,  and  then  I  hope  to  be  at  home  again.  I 
regret  every  day  that  I  could  not  have  come  home 
once  more  before  sailing,  but  there  has  been  a  good 
deal  for  me  to  do,  and  the  captain  has  turned  every 
thing  over  to  me.  So  I  am  obliged  to  be  here  every 
day.  .  .  . 

I  have  called  on  the  commodore's  family  twice.  He 
has  told  me  to  make  his  home  my  home  while  the  ship 
lies  here.  He  has  three  very  nice  daughters.  I  went 


136       GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

to  the  theater  the  other  evening  with  a  Miss  Kellog, 
a  niece  of  the  commodore,  a  very  beautiful  girl  from 
Troy,  and  was  at  her  house  last  evening  until  a  late 
hour.  It  is  very  lucky  the  ship  is  going  to  sail  soon, 
for  I  have  already  half  fallen  in  love. 

The  Cayuga  left  for  the  Gulf  on  June  10,  but 
striking  a  severe  storm  sprung  a  leak  and  was 
obliged  to  return  for  repairs.  She  went  into  dry- 
dock  and  not  until  the  i6th  could  she  proceed  on 
her  journey. 

The  next  letter,  of  July  21,  was  from  Baton 
Rouge  :  — 


We  left  New  Orleans  on  the  igth  and  arrived  here 
yesterday.  It  was  exciting  coming  up  the  river.  We 
had  received  information  that  12,000  guerrillas  were 
near  Baton  Rouge  committing  all  sorts  of  depreda 
tions  on  the  Union  people. 

We  anchored  one  night  to  guard  a  poor  woman 
whose  husband  had  been  taken  by  the  Rebels  the 
night  before,  and  they  threatened  her,  if  she  told,  to 
come  back  and  burn  the  house.  I  went  ashore  about 
ten  o'clock  at  night  to  see  that  everything  was  right. 
It  was  a  little  risky,  but  I  was  not  molested.  Baton 
Rouge  looks  pretty  from  the  river.  We  expect  at 
tacks  every  night,  and  I  think  rather  than  have  us 
hold  the  place,  they  will  destroy  it. 

I  am  having  a  rather  hard  time,  for  I  am  not  well 
and  am  under  the  doctor's  care.  Being  sick  in  this  hot 
climate  and  in  such  small  quarters  on  board  ship  is 
not  very  pleasant,  and  keeps  one  fretting  all  the  time. 


IN  THE  WEST  GULF  SQUADRON    137 

Tell  father,  I  have  drunk  all  the  cider  he  gave  me  and 
it  was  just  what  I  wanted  this  warm  weather. 

Two  days  later  he  continues :  — 

We  did  not  have  the  attack  last  night  that  we 
expected,  although  the  inhabitants  left  in  great 
numbers.  I  am  much  better  to-day  and  by  to-morrow 
will  be  entirely  well.  I  do  not  know  when  we  shall 
leave  here.  There  has  been  some  hard  fighting  far 
ther  up  the  river.  A  ram,  the  Arkansas,  passed 
through  Davis's  fleet  and  after  that  passed  through 
most  of  Farragut's  squadron.  These  things,  I  can 
assure  you,  are  very  disgusting.  With  the  little  means 
that  the  Rebels  have  to  manufacture  such  a  ram  that 
they  can  build  one  and  with  that  one  make  half  of  our 
vessels  "skedaddle"!  Farragut  attacks  the  ram  and 
the  forts  at  Vicksburg  to-morrow,  but  he  will  not  be 
able  to  do  anything  with  the  forts  there  except  run 
by  them  and  that  will  do  no  good.  They  cannot  be 
taken  without  an  army  in  the  rear. 

The  exploit  of  the  Arkansas  referred  to  oc 
curred  on  July  15  just  above  Vicksburg,  and  was 
the  cause  of  great  chagrin  on  the  part  of  Admir 
als  Farragut  and  Davis  as  well  as  the  Navy 
Department.  That  morning  the  combined  fleets 
of  the  officers  mentioned  were  lying  at  rest  with 
fires  banked.  When  the  Confederate  ironclad 
unexpectedly  appeared  from  up  the  Yazoo 
River,  where  she  had  been  building,  not  one  of 
her  foes  was  able  to  get  up  steam  to  ram  her  or 


138       GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

otherwise  block  her  progress.  The  Arkansas 
endured  a  terrific  bombardment  as  she  ran  the 
gauntlet;  her  pilot  house  was  demolished,  and 
her  smokestack  was  so  riddled  that  it  became 
impossible  to  keep  up  steam;  nevertheless  aided 
by  the  tide  she  succeeded  in  crawling  past  to  the 
protection  of  the  batteries  at  Vicksburg.  She 
lost  ten  men  killed  and  fifteen  wounded. 

Farragut  tried  to  atone  for  the  reverse  by  the 
prompt  measures  he  took  for  the  destruction  of 
the  ram.  That  very  evening  he  again  ran  the 
batteries  at  Vicksburg,  hoping  to  discover  the 
Arkansas  in  an  exposed  position  where  he  might 
destroy  her  at  her  moorings,  but  without  suc 
cess.  The  incident  gave  the  Confederates  a  ray 
of  hope  and  stimulated  them  to  fresh  activity. 
The  guerrillas  became  more  annoying,  and  Per 
kins  learned  to  know  them,  as  the  Cayuga  was 
constantly  employed  in  patrolling  the  river. 

On  July  28  he  writes:  - 

We  arrived  at  the  mouth  of  Red  River  in  the 
morning,  and  had  a  short  engagement  with  two  of  the 
Rebel  gunboats,  but  as  they  were  faster  than  we  and 
drew  less  water,  they  escaped  up  Red  River  and  we 
could  not  follow  them.  So  we  started  down  the  river 
in  the  evening  and  ran  ashore  and  were  in  great  dan 
ger  all  night,  for  if  the  Rebel  gunboats  had  known  of 


IN  THE  WEST  GULF  SQUADRON    139 

our  being  ashore,  they  would  have  come  down  and 
taken  us. 

The  end  of  the  dreaded  Arkansas  came  on 
August  6,  and  the  Cayuga  was  present  and  con 
tributed  her  assistance.  The  Confederates  had 
for  some  days  been  threatening  an  attack  on 
Baton  Rouge.  To  resist  this  General  Butler 
had  sent  troops  from  New  Orleans  in  transports, 
and  the  Cayuga  had  been  detailed  to  accompany 
them  and  prevent  the  guerrillas  from  firing  upon 
them.  On  the  5th  the  Arkansas  had  come  down 
the  river  to  a  bend  eight  miles  above  Baton 
Rouge.  Next  morning  Commodore  William  D. 
Porter  commanding  the  Essex  decided  to  attack 
her,  and  accompanied  by  the  Cayuga  and  the 
Sumter  advanced  to  a  position  two  miles  distant 
and  opened  fire.  The  Arkansas  made  an  occa 
sional  response,  but  her  engines  broke  down,  as 
they  had  been  constantly  doing  from  the  very 
first,  and  she  ran  into  the  bank.  Lieutenant 
Stevens,  commanding,  realized  the  hopelessness 
of  his  position,  and  ordering  the  crew  ashore  set 
fire  to  the  ram.  Commodore  Porter  would  have 
taken  for  himself  all  the  credit  for  her  destruc 
tion,  and  in  his  report  described  the  action  as 
fought  at  close  range  after  the  Cayuga^  in  dis- 


140      GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

obedience  to  orders,  had  retreated  down  the 
river.  But  a  court  of  inquiry  completely  exon 
erated  Commander  Fairfax  of  the  Cayuga,  show 
ing  that  his  vessel  remained  with  the  Essex  till 
the  Arkansas  was  on  fire,  when  Porter  told  him 
to  return  to  Baton  Rouge,  as  he  was  no  longer 
needed. 

Shortly  after  this  the  Cayuga  was  given  duty 
in  the  Gulf  and  Perkins  had  a  slight  change 
described  in  the  following  letters :  — 

NEW  ORLEANS,  August  4  (?),  1862. 

We  are  staying  here  for  a  short  time  before  going  to 
Pensacola,  where  we  follow  the  fleet.  I  have  met  a 
good  many  of  my  old  friends,  driven  on  the  famous 
shell  road,  and  have  been  about  to  see  the  sights  of 
the  city;  but  I  am  disappointed  in  them,  and  every 
thing  strikes  me  as  miserable  and  filthy.  The  people 
ought  to  have  some  gratitude  to  General  Butler,  for 
he  is  trying  to  get  the  city  clean  and  he  keeps  good 
order. 

PENSACOLA,  August  20,  1862. 

We  do  not  have  much  to  do.  We  take  a  short 
cruise  every  day  to  see  what  we  can  see,  and  exercise 
the  men  a  little  to  keep  their  digestion  in  order;  and 
the  rest  of  the  time  is  passed  in  sleeping  and  eating 
and  reading.  But  some  way  or  other  I  cannot  read 
much.  I  believe  I  shall  be  an  awfully  nervous  man 
when  I  get  a  little  older. 

August  21.    Off  Mobile.  —  We  went  cruising  last 


IN  THE  WEST  GULF  SQUADRON    141 

night  for  a  prize,  but  did  not  get  one,  and  we  have 
just  got  back  to  our  anchorage. 

August  23.  —  It  is  a  rainy,  gloomy  day,  and  if  I 
had  not  slept  from  eight  o'clock  last  night  until  eight 
o'clock  this  morning  I  should  go  to  bed  and  sleep  all 
day.  But  twelve  hours  on  a  stretch  is  as  much  as  I 
can  go.  We  are  now  running  full  speed  after  a  brig; 
but  she  will  turn  out  to  be  some  of  our  vessels.  And  I 
wish  the  captain  would  stop,  or  else  I  shall  have  to, 
for  when  we  are  running  full  speed  the  engine  shakes 
the  ship  so  that  it  is  almost  impossible  to  write. 

OFF  MOBILE,  August  24,  1862. 

We  have  been  from  the  Mississippi  to  Pensacola 
and  back  here,  since  I  had  a  chance  to  send  a  letter. 
We  stayed  at  Pensacola  a  week,  and,  as  usual,  I 
spent  my  spare  time  hunting  and  fishing.  I  have  not 
had  such  a  good  chance  for  a  long  time,  and  there  are 
quantities  of  game  —  wild  turkeys,  deer,  all  sorts  of 
birds  —  in  abundance. 

How  long  we  shall  blockade  here  I  do  not  know.  I 
wish  they  would  make  an  attack  soon,  and  I  shall  be 
glad  when  the  war  is  over.  ...  It  gets  very  monoto 
nous  on  the  blockade,  though  sometimes  the  sails 
appear  fairly  often,  and  we  keep  steam  up  all  the 
time,  and  are  on  a  continual  chase. 

When  we  are  lying  off  Mobile,  the  Rebel  boats 
come  down  and  have  a  look  at  us,  and  we  look  at 
them,  but  there  is  to  be  no  movement  made  towards 
the  capture  of  Mobile  for  the  present.  Galveston  has 
fallen  into  our  hands  without  a  struggle,  and  we  are 
gradually  getting  all  the  forts  on  the  Gulf.  But 
Mobile  is  strongly  fortified,  and  it  will  require  iron 
clads  to  accomplish  anything  in  this  bay.  I  am  sure 


142       GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

wooden  vessels  cannot  do  much.  Buchanan  has 
command  of  its  naval  defenses,  and  is  building  a 
powerful  ironclad. 

August  28,  1862. 

I  have  been  on  shore  hunting,  and  shot  two  beeves. 
This  sport,  is  rather  dangerous,  as  guerrillas  are  said 
to  be  plentiful,  but  it  serves  to  vary  our  diet  and  the 
dullness  of  blockade  duty.  There  are  very  severe 
gales  off  this  bay,  "northers"  they  are  called;  some  of 
our  blockading  vessels  have  been  almost  destroyed  by 
them.  Our  ship  has  escaped  so  far,  but  when  these 
gales  come,  they  make  lively  work  for  all  hands. 

OFF  MOBILE,  September  5,  1862. 

Yesterday  I  went  hunting  after  wild  cattle  and  had 
a  hard  time.  My  party  consisted  of  two  armed  boats* 
crews,  and  when  we  reached  the  shore,  I  sent  two  of 
my  men  ahead  as  scouts  to  look  out  for  guerrillas,  and 
then  we  started  for  some  game. 

After  hunting  all  morning,  and  not  seeing  anything, 
I  sent  one  boat  off  and  took  the  other  with  a  few 
men  to  go  and  pick  up  the  scouts.  We  pulled  a  long 
way,  but  could  not  find  them,  and  I  was  just  turn 
ing  about,  when  I  saw  a  large  drove  of  cattle  on  shore. 
We  pulled  up  on  the  beach  and  four  of  us  started  to 
get  a  shot  at  them,  but  they  caught  sight  of  us  and 
put  for  a  swamp,  and  in  we  went  after  them.  We 
then  scattered,  thinking  our  chances  for  a  shot  would 
be  better;  but  after  chasing  an  hour  we  lost  them,  and 
ourselves  as  well;  and  not  only  could  we  not  find  each 
other,  but  we  could  not  find  the  boat. 

We  heard  the  ship  firing  for  our  return,  and  about 
the  same  time  we  discovered  a  Rebel  steamer  near 


IN  THE  WEST  GULF  SQUADRON    143 

us.  We  thought  we  should  certainly  be  found  and 
taken  prisoners.  We  did  not  dare  to  halloo  for  each 
other,  nor  make  any  signal  to  our  vessel,  which  we 
could  hear  firing  for  us  every  few  minutes.  I  knew  the 
captain  must  have  some  very  good  reason  tor  being 
so  anxious,  and  I  looked  everywhere,  trying  to  find 
my  way;  but  none  of  my  men  were  to  be  seen,  and  I 
came  to  the  conclusion  that  they  must  all  have  been 
taken  prisoners.  I  was  bound  that  I  would  not  be 
taken,  so  I  hid  myself  in  the  woods  until  sunset,  and 
then  after  it  was  dusk,  went  down  to  the  beach  and 
signaled  for  a  boat.  When  the  boat  came  the  men 
said  there  was  great  anxiety  about  us  on  board  ship, 
for  they  felt  sure  the  Rebels  had  taken  us  prisoners. 
As  soon  as  the  boat  and  boat's  crew  came,  I  made 
signals  and  fired  guns,  for  the  three  men  who  had 
gone  after  the  cattle  with  me.  To  my  great  relief 
they  soon  made  their  appearance.  They  had  been  as 
badly  scared  as  I  was,  and  having  come  upon  tracks 
of  the  enemy,  had  concluded  that  I  must  have  been 
taken  prisoner,  and  since  then  they  had  been  hiding 
in  the  woods.  Just  about  this  time  the  boat  that  I 
had  left,  to  go  after  the  cattle,  came  along,  and  the 
scouts  turned  up,  and  we  were  all  safe. 

The  men  whom  I  had  left  in  charge  of  the  boat  had 
undertaken  to  beguile  the  time  by  a  sail,  and  getting 
to  leewards  a  strong  breeze  sprang  up,  and  they 
could  not  return  to  land  till  it  went  down.  But  at  last 
we  were  all  right,  and  got  back  to  the  ship  safe  and 
sound,  and  there  was  great  rejoicing  over  our  return. 
The  captain  had  been  very  anxious  about  our  fate, 
for  he  had  seen  the  steamer  and  feared  the  Rebels  on 
board  had  seen  and  taken  us.  How  can  Hammie  or 
Frank  beat  this  for  a  hunting  story? 


144       GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

This  afternoon  we  have  had  some  more  excitement. 
A  large  steamer  made  her  appearance  coming  in  from 
sea  with  the  English  colors  set.  Captain  Preble  of  the 
Oneida,  and  Thornton  of  the  PFinona,  blockading  off 
this  place,  saw  her,  and  both  got  under  way,  and  the 
Winona  stood  for  her;  but  Thornton  soon  decided 
that  it  must  be  an  English  man-of-war,  and  therefore 
stood  off  after  another  sail  which  hove  in  sight. 

Then  what  they  thought  was  an  English  man-of- 
war  came  dashing  up  to  the  Oneida,  near  enough  for 
them  to  see  that  she  carried  five  guns  on  a  side,  and  a 
pivot  gun  forward,  and  as  she  got  abreast  of  the 
Oneida,  Captain  Preble  fired  a  shot  across  her  bows  to 
bring  her  to;  he  supposed  she  brought  some  import 
ant  news,  and  he  would  board  her,  as  she  was  within 
our  lines.  But  the  steamer  stood  on,  and  as  soon  as 
she  passed  the  Oneida,  hauled  down  her  English 
colors  and  made  for  the  harbor.  She  was  very  fast, 
and  the  Oneida,  having  but  one  boiler  in  use,  was 
unable  to  catch  her;  so  she  reached  Mobile  in  safety, 
and,  no  doubt,  carried  to  the  Rebels  a  valuable  cargo 
of  arms.  It  was  a  smart  thing  on  the  part  of  the  Rebel 
captain. 

September  n,  1862. 

Since  that  English  steamer  ran  the  blockade  here 
our  fleet  has  been  reinforced.  We  keep  on  the  chase 
all  the  time  after  every  sail  that  appears. 

News  comes  that  the  Rebels  are  in  force  again  near 
New  Orleans.  I  cannot  understand  why  our  fleet  is 
kept  so  inactive.  A  few  gunboats,  rightly  handled, 
could  have  kept  the  Mississippi  open  from  New 
Orleans  to  Vicksburg;  but  instead  of  being  kept  on 
such  duty,  they  have  been  concentrated  at  ports, 


IN  THE  WEST  GULF  SQUADRON     145 

while  the  river  has  been  easily  retaken  by  the  Rebels, 
and  there  will  be  more  hard  fighting  there  yet. 

September  14,  1862. 

We  have  now  seven  gunboats  here.  This  is  getting 
to  be  a  rendezvous  for  our  men-of-war;  but  I  do  not 
know  what  they  intend  doing. 

My  captain  is  so  scary  and  anxious  about  every 
thing,  that  I  cannot  go  hunting  much;  but  yesterday 
I  got  ashore  and  shot  two  of  the  wild  cattle  about  the 
swamps,  and  that  helps  out  our  table  a  good  deal. 

The  only  variety  which  we  get  nowadays,  to  the 
monotonous  duty  of  blockading,  is  the  awful  wind, 
which  blows  a  perfect  gale  here  every  few  days,  just 
at  this  season,  and  which  does  not  make  it  any  more 
agreeable. 

I  think  there  is  no  hope  of  any  attack  on  Mobile  at 
present.  Galveston,  as  you  know,  is  in  the  enemy's 
hands  again,  and  Admiral  Farragut  has  sent  two 
boats  to  try  and  retake  it.  This  ship  is  going  to 
Pensacola,  if  it  will  stop  blowing  a  gale  long  enough 
for  us  to  start. 

OFF  MOBILE,  October  4,  1862. 

I  have  a  chance  to  send  home  a  line  by  ship  Island, 
and  I  am  going  to  write  something,  though  my 
monotonous  life  does  not  give  me  a  word  worth  say 
ing,  for  we  cruise  about  every  day  —  but  we  see 
nothing. 

Buchanan  is  hard  at  work  inside  Mobile  Harbor, 
and  has  four  very  good  gunboats,  besides  an  ironclad. 

I  am  getting  to  be  an  "old"  lieutenant  now,  and 
will  soon  be  ordered  first  lieutenant  of  a  larger  ship 
than  this. 


146       GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

News  comes  that  Captain  Preble  has  been  dis 
missed  for  letting  that  English  steamer  run  the 
blockade. 

October  6,  1862. 

I  wish  they  would  make  the  attack  here  and  have  it 
over.  I  believe  that  a  few  ironclads  could  pass  these 
forts  successfully;  and  if  we  had  some  ironclads,  we 
could  dispense  with  this  large  fleet  of  wooden  vessels. 

Don't  forget  when  you  write  to  tell  me  every  little 
thing  —  even  the  last  new  thing  Poll  has  learned  to 
say.  The  letters  come  so  irregularly  and  I  have  so 
much  time  to  think  of  home,  that  I  am  always  fancy 
ing  something  happening  there,  and  I  want  to  know 
everything. 

October  13,  1862. 

A  few  days  ago  two  large  steamers,  the  Cuba  and 
the  Alice  loaded  with  cotton  ran  the  blockade  in  the 
night-time,  and  got  clear.  Since  Captain  Preble  has 
been  dismissed  the  commanding  officer  has  been  very 
vigilant,  and  we  give  chase  to  every  sail  that  heaves 
in  sight.  I  am  sorry  for  Captain  Preble  and  hope  he 
will  get  back,  for  he  has  been  in  the  navy  all  his  life  — 
has  a  family,  and  nothing  but  his  pay. 

The  weather  has  changed  and  is  cold  enough  for 
New  Hampshire,  and  my  fingers  are  so  numb  I  can 
hardly  write.  We  are  lying  now  very  near  Mobile 
Bay  —  just  beyond  the  range  of  the  forts.  The  Rebel 
steamers  come  out  and  have  a  look  at  us,  and  posi 
tively  it  seems  strange  that  they  are  our  enemies. 
But  if  I  do  not  realize  it  now,  probably  I  shall  some 
day;  perhaps  before  the  winter  is  over. 

We  do  not  get  much  that  is  good  to  eat,  and  fresh 
provisions  come  along  irregularly,  and  last  only  about 
three  days. 


IN  THE  WEST  GULF  SQUADRON    147 

NEW  ORLEANS,  November  2,  1862. 

We  arrived  here  from  Pensacola  and  went  up  the 
river  at  once  to  attack  some  Rebel  gunboats,  but  we 
could  not  find  them.  We  went  up  as  far  as  Baton 
Rouge,  but  were  not  molested  by  anything  except  the 
sharpshooters  on  the  levee,  but  we  did  not  lose  any 
men. 

I  have  just  received  my  orders  to  report  to  Commo 
dore  Morris  for  duty  as  executive  officer  on  board  the 
Pensacola.  She  is  one  of  the  finest  vessels  in  the  navy, 
carries  a  battery  of  twenty-six  large  guns,  and  has 
about  400  men.  It  is  a  promotion  for  me,  and  I  shall 
have  to  work  hard. 

The  Pensacola  will  remain  here  this  winter  to  pro 
tect  the  city,  and  you  must  direct  all  your  letters 
here.  Captain  Fairfax  has  spoken  very  highly  of  me 
to  every  one,  and  he  does  not  want  me  to  leave 
him.  .  .  . 

I  called  on  Mrs.  Butler  the  other  day.  She  seemed 
glad  to  see  me.  I  took  dinner  with  the  general.  I  also 
met  General  Shipley  last  night.  They  were  all  very 
polite,  but  you  can  hardly  imagine  the  rascality  and 
depravity  that  is  carried  on  in  this  city. 

U.S.  STEAMER  Pensacola,  NEW  ORLEANS, 
November  5,  1862. 

I  have  left  the  Cayuga  and  am  almost  settled  on 
board  this  ship.  ...  I  have  a  great  deal  to  do;  every 
thing  is  new  to  me,  as  I  have  been  on  small  ships  so 
much,  and  I  am  very  busy.  I  have  a  fine  room,  a 
clerk,  and  a  boy,  all  to  myself.  But  I  was  almost 
always  happy  on  board  the  Cayuga.  Captain  Fairfax 
was  very  sorry  when  I  left,  and  I  believe  every  one 
else  was. 


148       GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

I  have  been  a  witness  for  the  last  few  days  in  the 
court  of  inquiry  [ordered  to  investigate  the  part 
taken  by  the  Cayuga  in  the  destruction  of  the  Arkan 
sas}.  Captain  Fairfax  has  come  out  with  flying 
colors,  and  I  am  glad  of  it.  ... 

What  an  awful  war  this  is.  It  would  make  your 
heart  ache  to  see  the  destruction  of  Rebel  property 
on  this  river.  The  army  officers  are  quartered  in  the 
finest  houses  in  the  city.  Stealing  and  depravity  of 
every  kind  is  going  on. 

Christmas,  1862. 

I  stayed  on  board  ship  all  day,  and  as  I  soon  fell  to 
thinking  about  you  all  at  home,  I  had  a  fit  of  home 
sickness.  So  I  am  going  to  begin  a  letter,  though  as 
usual  I  have  little  to  write  about  except  myself.  .  .  . 
We  ha4  a  good  dinner  to-day  —  that  is  we  had  plenty 
of  food  that  ought  to  have  been  better  than  it  was.  I 
thought  of  your  mince  pie  and  nice  cooking  and  my 
last  Christmas  at  home. 

NEW  ORLEANS,  January  3,  1863. 

We  have  bad  news  to-night  from  Galveston,  Texas. 
The  Rebels  attacked  three  of  our  gunboats;  with  four 
river  boats  they  took  the  Harriet  Lane,  boarding 
her,  and  causing  the  others  to  blow  themselves  up. 
Captain  Wainwright  of  the  Harriet  Lane,  Captain 
Renshaw  of  the  Westfield,  and  Lieutenant  Lea  were 
killed  besides  several  other  officers  and  men.  Their 
army  attacked  our  troops  on  shore  at  the  same  time 
and  have  killed  or  captured  them  all.  .  .  . 

There  will  be  a  great  deal  of  desperate  fighting 
here;  and  if  we  do  not  look  out  we  shall  be  whipped 
out  of  the  river.  We  are  all  very  inactive.  The  army 


IN  THE  WEST  GULF  SQUADRON    149 

is  completely  demoralized.  The  miserable  specula 
tors,  instead  of  being  hanged  when  they  are  caught, 
and  they  are  caught  very  often,  are  merely  impris 
oned  a  few  days,  and  then  they  return  to  their  dis 
honest  business  with  double  energy.  General  Banks 
is  too  easy  and  the  country  looks  as  though  it  were 
going  to  the  old  Harry. 

I  suppose  I  am  having  a  very  pleasant  time  here, 
but  I  must  say  I  am  willing  to  leave.  Our  vessel  being 
the  largest  and  finest  we  have  a  great  many  lady  visi 
tors  and  I  receive  many  invitations  to  the  homes  in 
the  city.  I  had  a  pleasant  call  last  night  on  a  young 
lady  that  owns  a  large  plantation  and  plenty  of 
negroes.  I  think  it  would  be  rather  dangerous  for  me 
if  the  times  were  not  just  as  they  are.  ...  I  am  going 
to-morrow  night  with  Mrs.  Maloney,  wife  of  the 
Maloney  whom  I  wrote  you  about,  to  take  tea  and 
pass  the  evening  with  a  Mrs.  Converse,  who  is  a 
rather  nice  lady.  During  the  evening  I  expect  to  meet 
several  young  ladies,  who  of  course  cannot  be  fash 
ionable  unless  they  are  secesh.  I  am  sorry  I  made  the 
engagement  to  go,  for  I  do  hate  a  secessionist.  But 
I  shall  go  in  full  uniform,  and  have  as  good  a  time 
as  I  can. 

January  27,  1863. 

Things  look  very  shaky,  and  there  seems  no  head 
nor  tail  in  either  the  army  or  the  navy.  Spies  here  come 
and  go  at  will,  and  the  chief  and  worst  ones  are  ladies 
of  the  best  families.  They  take  the  oath  of  allegiance, 
and  ask  permission  to  pass  our  lines  for  the  purpose  of 
getting  a  few  supplies  for  their  children,  who,  they 
say,  are  starving;  but  when  once  through,  they  get 
everything  they  can  sew  up  in  their  skirts  —  quinine 


i5o       GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

and  everything  else  —  and  their  supply  comes  from 
cur  arrr.y  ?:;res.  They  re:  i:  no  rr.atter  if  it  is  ccr.tra- 
band  of  war.  One  lady  boasted  that  she  wanted 
nothing  more  within  our  lines;  that  she  had  carried 
through  over  200  hundred  ounces  of  quinine  within 
the  last  week.  .  .  . 

As  you  like  to  know  all  the  compliments  that  are 
paid  me,  I  will  tell  you  one  that  I  had  the  other  day 
from  General  Weitzel.  He  wants  me  to  take  com 
mand  of  a  fleet  of  gunboats  in  Berwick  Bay.  He  is 
ee:::^r  ur  ar.  exreci:::"  ::"  ::.:•:•:  men  ar.d  a  f.ee:  of 
gunboats  to  go  up  through  the  bayous  into  Red 
River,  and  he  wants  me  to  take  command  of  the 
naval  force.  He  said  to  me,  —  "Perkins,  you  are  the 
only  man  that  I  know  of  fitted  to  go  through  the 
desperate  fighting  we  shall  have;  but  with  you  in 
command  of  those  gunboats  and  me  with  my  troops, 
we  can  face  the  devil,  and  are  bound  to  win.  But 
unless  you  will  go  with  me,  I  have  my  doubts  about 
succeeding,  and  I  shall  think  twice  before  I  go.  .  .  ." 

A  Rebel  quartermaster  has  just  been  caught  with 
a  list  of  the  articles  he  intended  to  purchase  within  our 
lines  of  our  sutlers,  though  to  be  sure  he  had  taken 
the  oath  of  allegiance.  He  will  probably  be  impris- 
soned  a  few  days  and  then  let  out,  when  he  will  at 
once  go  back  to  the  same  rascally  business,  and  we 
shall  go  on  furnishing  the  Rebel  army  and  people 
with  food  and  medicines.  It  makes  me  fairly  vexed 
and  unhappy  to  see  the  United  States  and  its  Govern 
ment  and  its  soldiers,  so  scoffed  and  cheated  and 
jeered  at  by  the  Rebels.  .  .  . 

My  next  gayety  is  to  be  a  party  up  the  river.  We 
are  going  to  visit  a  large  sugar  plantation  of  some 
reputation;  but  that  will  wind  up  my  visiting,  as  I 


IN  THE  WEST  GULF  SQUADRON"     151 

ought  not  to  leave  the  ship  much,  for  Commodore 
Morris  is  growing  more  feeble,  and  I  do  not  believe 
he  can  hold  out  much  longer.  I  hope  the  captain  who 
takes  his  place  will  be  as  fine  an  officer  and  gentleman 
as  he  is. 

It  would  do  you  good  to  see  the  Pensacola  now. 
She  is  one  of  the  finest  ships  in  the  navy,  and  by  hav 
ing  my  own  way,  I  have  got  her  in  splendid  order,  and 
the  crew  perfectly  drilled. 

January  23,  1863. 

The  other  morning  I  received  orders  from  the 
Admiral  to  take  command  of  the  Cayuga  and  go  to 
Galveston  to  assist  in  retaking  it.  I  was  delighted 
with  the  orders,  for  I  hate  to  lie  here  inactive,  and  I 
made  all  haste  to  be  off  to  her;  but  when  the  mail 
steamer  arrived,  whom  should  it  bring  but  Captain 
McDerrit,  who  had  been  ordered  at  the  department 
to  relieve  Captain  Fairfax  as  her  commander,  and 
my  hopes  are  dashed. 

NEW  ORLEANS,  April  21,  1863. 

The  Naval  Register  states  that  I  have  been  a 
lieutenant-commander  since  December  13,  1862,  but 
I  have  not  received  any  notification  of  it  from  the 

department. 

During  the  months  that  followed,  Grant  and 
Porter  were  completing  the  investment  of  Vicks- 
burg,  while  Banks  and  Farragut  were  operating 
against  Port  Hudson,  both  of  which  strongholds 
fell  during  early  July.  Meanwhile  the  Confed 
erate  forces  in  the  Southwest  had  been  far  from 


152        GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

idle.  They  had,  as  narrated  by  Perkins  in  his 
letters,  retaken  Galveston.  And  when  General 
Banks  had  withdrawn  his  troops  from  the  Red 
River  country  so  as  to  concentrate  upon  Port 
Hudson,  General  Taylor  of  the  Confederate 
Army  proposed  the  uniting  of  Walker's  division 
with  his  own  at  Alexandria,  Louisiana,  when  the 
combined  forces  should  take  the  open  road  to  the 
south.  With  the  7000  or  8000  men  whom  he  would 
have,  he  promised  either  to  capture  New  Orleans 
or  else  compel  Banks  to  hasten  to  its  succor  and 
thus  raise  the  siege  of  Port  Hudson,  But,  fortu 
nately  for  the  Union  cause,  Taylor  was  over 
ruled  by  Kirby  Smith,  who  ordered  Walker's 
division  to  remain  in  the  vicinity  of  Vicksburg, 
thus  limiting  Taylor's  force  to  3000  men. 

Disappointed  but  not  discouraged,  Taylor 
moved  south  in  two  detachments.  One  of  these 
on  June  18  reached  Plaquemine  (between  Baton 
Rouge  and  Donaldsonville  on  the  Mississippi), 
and  captured  the  little  garrison  of  seventy  men 
and  burned  two  steamers.  Both  detachments 
arrived  at  Brashear  City  four  days  later  and 
attacking  simultaneously  captured  the  entire 
force  there,  variously  estimated  at  from  300  to 
1700  men.  This  success  had  some  importance 


IN  THE  WEST  GULF  SQUADRON     153 

to  the  Confederates,  for  it  gave  Taylor's  force 
abundant  supplies  and  afforded  a  ready  access 
to  the  La  Fourche  country  to  the  east,  with  the 
Western  Railroad  leading  to  New  Orleans. 

Losing  no  time,  Taylor  collected  the  supplies 
which  he  had  captured,  sent  part  of  his  forces 
against  Donaldsonville,  and  with  the  rest  ad 
vanced  towards  New  Orleans,  his  pickets  being 
only  twenty-five  miles  distant.  The  city  was 
almost  without  defenders,  and  its  danger  caused 
no  small  alarm.  At  Donaldsonville  there  were 
but  1 80  men  in  the  garrison,  but  with  the  aid  of 
three  Union  gunboats  in  the  river  they  suc 
ceeded  in  beating  off  1400  Confederates  who 
attacked  them  at  half-past  one  on  the  morning 
of  June  28.  The  latter  then  took  a  position  a 
few  miles  down  the  river  where  they  erected 
batteries  commanding  its  navigation.  Thus  not 
only  was  New  Orleans  threatened  from  the  La 
Fourche,  but  all  communications  with  General 
Banks  by  transports  were  cut  off.  It  was  at  this 
crisis  that  Perkins  was  given  important  duty  as 
described  in  the  following  letter:  — 

U.S.S.  New  London,  July  4,  1863. 

I  am  on  my  way  down  the  river,  and  shall  soon  be 
in  New  Orleans.  I  have  taken  command  of  this  vessel 


154      GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

until  her  captain  comes  from  Mobile;  but  after  that 
I  expect  to  go  back  to  the  Pensacola.  My  duty  is  to 
convey  powder  to  Banks's  army.  I  left  New  Orleans 
in  the  evening,  convoying  the  steamer  North  America 
as  far  as  Donaldsonville.  The  river  is  now  in  posses 
sion  of  the  Rebels  from  about  forty  miles  above  New 
Orleans  to  Donaldsonville,  and  they  fire  on  all  our 
vessels  and  destroy  our  transports.  I  have  been 
up  all  night,  and  have  had  a  hard  and  lively  time. 
Within  two  miles  of  Donaldsonville  a  Rebel  battery 
opened  on  us  with  artillery  and  sharpshooters.  We 
were  struck  several  times  and  had  a  spirited  engage 
ment.  I  got  the  North  America  by  all  right,  with 
only  four  shots  through  her,  and  then,  leaving  her  at 
Donaldsonville,  I  returned  to  the  scene  of  action,  and 
kept  it  up  till  they  stopped  firing.  On  my  way  down 
I  trained  my  guns  on  everything  I  could  see,  as  I  was 
determined  to  make  them  pay  dear  for  their  whistle 
this  time;  but  the  levee  is  so  high  that  one  is  not  able 
to  see  anything  behind  it,  and  the  Rebels  mass  their 
sharpshooters  at  different  points  and  fire  into  our 
gunboats  when  they  pass;  and,  although  we  blaze 
away  back,  we  do  not  get  a  fair  revenge.  In  fact,  the 
Rebels  are  now  doing  pretty  much  as  they  please 
everywhere.  They  come  and  go  freely,  in  and  out  of 
New  Orleans,  and  all  our  affairs  are  in  a  confused  and 
disorganized  state. 

The  efficient  manner  in  which  Perkins  handled 
his  ship  did  not  fail  to  attract  notice.  Captain 
T.  A.  Jenkins,  reporting  an  engagement,  July  7, 
between  the  Confederate  batteries  below  Don 
aldsonville  and  the  Union  fleet,  says,  "Lieuten- 


IN  THE  WEST  GULF  SQUADRON    155 

ant-Commander  Perkins,  in  command  of  the 
New  London,  fought  his  vessel  admirably."  1 
And  General  Banks,  as  he  wrote  to  Admiral 
Farragut,  July  8,  announcing  the  surrender  of 
Port  Hudson,  suggests  Perkins  as  one  who  would 
enable  them  to  atone  for  the  reverses  on  the 
river  and  in  the  La  Fourche:  — 

All  the  light-draft  boats  should  be  ordered  down  at 
once  [to  Berwick  Bay].  ...  I  hope  Captain  Wiggin 
and  Captain  Perkins  may  be  put  in  command,  as 
they  know  the  localities  and  are  energetic  in  action.2 

Banks's  plan  was  not  carried  out,  however,  and 
Perkins's  command  of  the  New  London  ended 
with  a  misfortune.  This  is  related  in  his  letter  of 
July  29:— 

Since  I  wrote  you  last  I  have  been  through  more 
excitement,  and  it  seems  to  me  as  if  I  had  been  in 
more  danger  than  ever  before  in  my  life;  and  I  am 
going  to  try  and  describe  to  you  my  last  trip  in  the 
New  London. 

I  had  passed  the  Whitehall  Point  batteries  in  her 
successfully  five  times,  but  on  the  sixth  trip,  when  the 
New  London  was  returning  to  New  Orleans,  just  as 
she  was  passing  those  batteries,  at  about  quarter  past 
one,  on  the  morning  of  the  loth  of  July,  the  enemy 
discovered  her,  and  opened  with  artillery  and  sharp 
shooters.  One  shot  struck  the  New  London's  boiler, 

1  Naval  War  Records,  vol.  xx,  p.  334.  2  Ibid.,  p.  262. 


156       GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

which  exploded,  severely  scalding  six  men,  and 
another  shot  penetrated  the  steam  drum.  This  dis 
abled  the  vessel,  and  I  ordered  her  to  be  run  toward 
the  eastern  bank,  but  the  escaping  steam  made  it 
impossible  for  the  helmsman  to  remain  at  the  wheel, 
and  the  ship  grounded  within  range  of  the  battery. 
The  gunboat  Winona,  which  had  been  ordered  to 
escort  the  New  London  past  Whitehall  Point,  ran 
away  at  the  first  shot,  and  was  out  of  sight  by  this 
time.  I  fired  rockets  to  inform  her  of  my  danger  and 
to  summon  her  to  my  assistance,  but  received  no 
response. 

We  were  at  the  mercy  of  the  sharpshooters,  and 
every  shot  dealt  death  and  destruction.  My  first 
lieutenant  was  shot  through  the  head,  and  the  men 
now  became  so  terrified  that  they  began  to  leap  over 
board.  I  then  ordered  a  boat  to  be  manned  and 
kedged  off  the  ship  astern,  till  she  drifted  downstream 
out  of  the  way  of  the  upper  battery.  But  the  most 
powerful  fortification  of  the  battery  was  still  below 
us;  so  I  towed  the  ship  to  the  eastern  bank  and  made 
her  fast;  but  danger  pursued  me  here,  and  it  was  soon 
plain  that  I  had  only  gained  a  respite  from  the  mur 
derous  fire,  for  I  could  see  the  enemy  cutting  em 
brasures  to  move  their  guns  down  for  a  better  range, 
and  I  knew  that  daylight  would  seal  the  fate  of  my 
ship  and  crew. 

I  determined  to  save  them  if  I  could.  I  sent  the 
ship's  company  ashore  under  the  protection  of  the 
levee,  where  they  could  use  their  muskets  to  repel  an 
attack,  and  stationed  pickets  along  the  road.  I  then 
despatched  messengers  by  land  to  Donaldsonville, 
where  General  Weitzel  was,  for  assistance,  and  sent  a 
boat  by  the  river  to  the  Monongahela  and  the  Essex 


IN  THE   WEST  GULF  SQUADRON     157 

with  the  same  request.  These  two  ships  were  sta 
tioned  some  miles  below  on  the  river  to  protect  an 
encampment  of  our  troops  on  the  eastern  bank. 

The  messengers  returned  from  Donaldsonville  say 
ing  no  assistance  could  be  rendered;  while,  with 
regard  to  the  success  of  those  I  sent  by  the  river  I  felt 
very  doubtful,  so  much  was  the  passage  of  the  White 
hall  Point  batteries  dreaded.  Just  at  this  time  infor 
mation  was  brought  me  that  a  force  of  Rebel  cavalry 
-  500  strong  —  was  only  a  few  miles  in  the  interior. 
I  felt  desperate,  for  I  realized  the  whole  peril  of  the 
situation,  and  I  was  determined  that  my  ship  and 
crew  should  not  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  I 
resolved  to  follow  the  dictates  of  my  own  judgment. 
I  knew  that  upon  a  personal  application  Weitzel 
would  at  once  grant  me  anything  I  wanted.  I  went 
ashore,  and  capturing  a  horse  that  was  tied  to  a  fence, 
I  rode  back  to  Donaldsonville.  Arrived  opposite,  I 
signaled  to  the  Princess  Royal  to  send  a  boat  for  me, 
and,  to  save  time,  I  first  demanded  assistance  from 
her  senior  officer;  this  he  thought  fit  to  refuse. 

The  Princess  Royal  was  one  of  our  gunboats  sta 
tioned  at  Donaldsonville  to  protect  and  help  Weitzel. 
I  immediately  hastened  to  him,  and  without  delay  he 
started  a  body  of  troops  down  the  river  for  my  assist 
ance.  But  when  I  returned  to  the  spot  where  I  had 
left  the  New  London  I  found  her  gone,  and  I  con 
cluded  —  rightly,  as  it  afterwards  proved  —  that  the 
boat  I  had  sent  early  in  the  morning  had  succeeded 
in  reaching  our  ships,  and  that  they  had  come  up  and 
taken  her  off.  I  found  afterwards  that  it  was  the 
ironclad  Essex,  and  it  towed  her  directly  to  New 
Orleans. 

This  was  a  great  relief  to  me,  for  now  the  lives  of 


i$8      GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

my  men  were  safe,  and  the  ship  was  still  under  its 
own  flag;  but  I  began  to  realize  that  my  own  position 
was  now  one  of  considerable  danger.  I  fastened  the 
horse  I  had  so  unceremoniously  borrowed  to  the  spot 
I  first  found  him,  and  then  hired  a  negro  to  drive  me, 
in  any  sort  of  vehicle  he  could  get,  down  the  levee 
road  to  our  lines.  This  proved  to  be  a  carryall  har 
nessed  to  a  mule;  but  it  was  the  best  he  could  do.  I 
took  the  back  seat,  and  laid  my  loaded  pistols  by  my 
side  close  under  my  hand.  At  the  negro's  earnest 
entreaty  I  put  on  my  uniform  coat  wrong  side  out, 
that  it  might  not  attract  attention,  and  so  I  started 
—  a  Union  officer,  miles  from  our  troops  —  on  my 
passage  through  the  enemy's  country,  along  a  road 
where  Rebel  troops,  bands  of  guerrillas  and  sharp 
shooters  were  usually  in  constant  movement.  .  .  . 
Around  a  grocery  shop  which  I  passed  there  were 
lounging  a  group  of  armed  Rebels.  My  driver  was 
terribly  frightened  at  this,  and  kept  saying,  "Set 
back,  massa,  for  God's  sake,  set  back!  Mebbe  dey 
won't  see  you!"  And  then  whipped  up  his  mule  till 
we  were  safe  beyond  their  reach. 

But  I  had  been  seen  and  suspected  by  the  Rebel 
troops  on  the  other  side  of  the  river,  and  they  had 
sent  a  boat  and  some  soldiers  across  to  capture  me. 
They  reached  the  bank  on  my  side,  landed,  and  came 
up  the  road  to  intercept  me  just  as  I  was  nearing  our 
lines.  Fortunately  all  this  was  perceived  by  our 
troops,  and  a  body  of  cavalry  was  sent  out,  which 
captured  the  Rebels  and  conducted  me  in  safety  to 
the  camp  by  one  and  the  same  proceeding.  Here  I 
found  one  of  our  ships  —  the  Monogahela  —  and  I 
went  on  board  of  her  in  a  perfectly  exhausted  condi 
tion.  Flinging  myself  in  a  bunk  I  slept  soundly  for 


IN  THE  WEST  GULF  SQUADRON    159 

hours,  undisturbed  by  the  fact  that  a  short  time 
before,  while  lying  in  that  very  same  place,  the  cap 
tain  of  the  Monongahela  —  Abner  Read  —  had  been 
killed  by  a  Rebel  shot  which  penetrated  the  ship's 
side  and  struck  him,  and  that  his  dead  body  was 
then  on  board,  being  conveyed  to  New  Orleans. 

I  roused  myself  next  morning  in  order  to  continue 
my  journey  to  New  Orleans  in  a  commissary  wagon, 
but  when  daylight  dawned  I  saw  a  gunboat  coming 
down  the  river  in  command  of  my  friend  Captain 
Cooke  and  I  went  on  board  of  her  and  made  the  rest 
of  my  trip  by  water. 

Admiral  Farragut  admired  the  young  officer's 
bravery,  but  considered  he  had  acted  unwisely 
in  one  particular.  This  he  called  his  attention  to 
by  reminding  him  of  the  principle,  "A  comman 
der  should  be  the  last  person  to  leave  the  ship 
even  for  succor."  As  he  repeated  this  in  report 
ing  the  matter  to  the  department,  he  added:  — 

His  conduct  was  represented  as  cool.  He  made 
every  disposition  of  his  men,  and  managed  his  vessel 
with  ability. 

On  the  1 3th  of  July,  Admiral  Farragut  ordered 
Perkins  to  deliver  over  the  command  of  the  New 
London  to  Lieutenant-Commander  Potter  and 
resume  his  former  duties  on  the  Pensacola. 
There  is  shown  a  kindly  spirit  on  the  part  of  the 
Admiral  as  he  concludes  his  letter:  — 


160      GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

I  regret  this  necessity,  but  seniority  must  have  its 
precedence,  and  it  is  for  no  misconduct  that  you  are 
relieved.  I  am  satisfied  that  you  acted  to  the  best  of 
your  judgment  in  the  case  of  the  disabling  of  the  New 
London. 

Perkins's  next  duty  gave  proof,  even  more 
positive,  of  Farragut's  good  opinion. 

NEW  ORLEANS,  July  31,  1863. 

The  Admiral  has  given  me  command  of  the  Sciota. 
She  is  a  fine  gunboat  and  a  good  command  for  me. 
He  promised  me  a  good  command  when  I  was 
relieved  from  the  New  London,  and  he  has  kept  his 
word.  Commodore  Morris  left  the  Pensacola  this 
afternoon.  The  old  gentleman  felt  very  sad,  and  so 
did  we,  for  we  all  loved  him  very  much.  He  was 
so  feeble  that  he  had  to  be  lowered  over  the  side  in 
a  chair,  and  I  am  afraid  he  will  not  live  to  get  home. 

The  Sciota  will  lie  off  this  city  about  a  month.  She 
is  a  regular  naval  gunboat,  and  carries  four  24-pound 
howitzers,  one  n-inch  gun,  and  one  Parrott  gun,  and 
her  officers  and  crew  number  115  men,  all  told. 

Tell  Uncle  Paul  that  I  am  the  youngest  officer  at 
this  time  that  has  such  a  command.  I  expect  my 
destination  is  to  be  blockade  duty  somewhere  off 
Galveston,  Texas. 

For  the  next  four  months  the  Sciota  lay  in 
the  Mississippi.  During  the  period  of  waiting 
her  young  captain  had  to  combat  that  most 
insidious  foe,  more  dreaded  in  the  river  than 
the  enemy's  strongest  batteries,  yellow  fever. 


IN  THE  WEST  GULF  SQUADRON    161 

Dr.  Henry  W.  Birkey,  the  ship  surgeon,  gives  a 
glimpse  of  the  terrible  experience  and  of  the 
captain's  fortitude  in  a  letter  written  forty-five 
years  later  to  Commodore  Perkins's  daughter:  — 

I  can  see  your  father  as  he  stood  in  the  gangway  of 
the  ship  as  I  boarded  the  Sciota.  ...  As  he  held  out 
his  hand  to  me  as  I  stepped  on  the  quarterdeck  he 
looked  grave,  but  smiled  and  said,  "I  am  glad  you 
have  come,  doctor."  I  replied,  "Captain,  with  your 
permission  I  will  go  at  once  and  attend  to  the  sick 
men."  "I  will  go  with  you,"  was  his  answer.  We 
passed  along  the  waist  of  the  ship  forward,  and  it 
was  a  scene  never  to  be  forgotten.  Many  of  those 
stricken  by  the  yellow  fever  (two  thirds  of  the  crew 
were  down  with  it)  had  stayed  on  deck  to  get  fresh 
air;  it  was  stifling  below,  although  they  had  wind 
sails.  The  topgallant  forecastle  was  full  of  them; 
others  were  lying  beside  or  against  the  bulwarks  and 
hammock  cloths,  and  one  or  two  in  the  shade  of  the 
ii-inch  gun  amidships.  Some  appeared  to  be  either 
dead  or  dying.  After  we  had  seen  them  all  and  I  had 
given  orders  how  they  should  be  cared  for,  your 
father  said  to  me,  "Doctor,  come  with  me  into  the 
cabin."  Then  he  said,  "It  is  terrible  to  see  those 
poor  fellows  suffering."  He  never  spoke  of  himself, 
although  he  was  shut  up  in  midstream  on  the  Missis 
sippi  on  board  ship  with  such  an  awful  pestilence 
and  the  dead  and  dying  around  him.  Two  medi 
cal  officers,  my  friends,  had  already  died  and  I  was 
kept  busy.  Your  father's  ship,  the  Sciota,  had  been 
raised  from  the  bottom  of  the  river  and  was  full  of 
ooze  and  mud  among  her  timbers;  .  .  .  the  fever  was 


1 62      GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

in  the  fleet,  and  she  became  as  it  were  a  hotbed.  .  .  . 
I  left  him  calm,  as  he  always  was  in  the  greatest 
danger,  one  of  the  bravest  gentlemen  I  ever  knew. 
All  his  friends  loved  him. 


It  was  not  until  the  very  last  of  November, 
1863,  that  Perkins  received  his  sailing  orders  and 
put  to  sea.  The  Sciota  was  to  be  a  factor  in  the 
great  blockade  that  began  with  Hampton  Roads 
and  extended  over  3000  miles  to  the  Rio  Grande, 
—  a  blockade  which  in  magnitude  has  never 
been  equaled.  The  points  especially  watched  on 
the  Texas  coast  were  Sabine  Pass,  Galveston, 
Pass  Cavallo,  Aransas,  and  Corpus  Christi. 
The  Sciota  patrolled  a  long  stretch  of  this  coast, 
dividing  the  time  almost  equally  between  the 
first  three  places  mentioned.  Early  in  the  war 
there  had  been  several  Union  successes  on  the 
Texas  coast,  but  the  towns  and  harbors  gained 
had  not  been  held  for  lack  of  troops.  After  the 
fall  of  Vicksburg  and  Port  Hudson,  Texas  had 
become  less  important  to  the  Confederacy  as  a 
source  of  supplies,  and  the  Government  at 
Washington  thought  it  hardly  worth  while  to 
reoccupy  its  ports.  Nevertheless,  it  ordered  the 
West  Gulf  Squadron  to  continue  in  the  blockade, 
both  to  prevent  the  Confederates  from  becoming 


IN  THE  WEST  GULF  SQUADRON    163 

too  active  in  the  Southwest  and  to  avoid  the 
European  complications  that  would  have  re 
sulted  from  the  encouragement  to  trade  with  the 
South  if  part  of  the  blockade  had  been  aban 
doned. 

Admiral  Mahan,  as  a  lieutenant  on  the  Semi- 
nole,  had  a  part  in  this  same  blockade,  and  he 
speaks  of  the  desperately  tedious  duty  when 
even  "the  largest  reservoirs  of  anecdotes  were 
sure  to  run  dry."  The  supply  vessels,  he  re 
marks,  came  periodically,  but  though  they 
reached  the  blockade  off  Charleston  with  papers 
not  very  late  and  fresh  provisions  not  very  long 
slaughtered,  at  Galveston  and  Sabine  Pass  they 
could  furnish  only  stale  news  and  the  bottom 
tier  of  fresh  beef.  He  says  further:  — 

The  dead  monotony  of  the  blockade  was  neither 
sea  nor  port.  It  supplied  nothing.  The  crew,  once 
drilled,  needed  but  a  few  moments  each  day  to  keep 
at  the  level  of  proficiency;  and  there  was  practically 
nothing  to  do,  because  nothing  happened  that 
required  a  doing  or  undoing.  .  .  .  [After  six  months' 
duty  there  the  Seminole  was]  recalled  in  mercy  to 
New  Orleans.  I  have  never  seen  a  body  of  intelligent 
men  reduced  so  nearly  to  imbecility  as  my  shipmates 
then  were.1 

1  Mahan,  From  Sail  to  Steam,  p.  174, 175.  Copyright,  1906, 1907, 
by  Harper  &  Brothers. 


164       GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

It  is  not  strange  that  in  such  a  life  Perkins's 
thoughts  dwelt  very  often  on  home.  His 
brothers,  Roger,  Hamilton,  and  Frank,  —  all 
younger  than  he,  —  were  at  the  age  when 
moulding  influences  are  so  powerful.  There  was 
uppermost  that  most  important  subject  of 
young  manhood,  the  choice  of  profession. 
Perkins's  letters  are  full  of  sympathy  and  in 
terest.  As  Miss  Perkins  observes,  many  fathers 
are  not  so  anxious  about  their  sons  as  he  was  at 
this  time  for  his  brothers.  Roger,  after  a  slight 
trial  of  business,  thought  of  enlisting  in  the  army 
and  taking  part  in  the  war.  But  Perkins,  fearing 
that  he  might  thus  sacrifice  his  career,  urged  him 
not  to,  and  expressed  great  satisfaction  when 
later  he  decided  to  study  medicine.  Perkins  also 
wrote  many  letters  to  Hamilton,  and  tried  to 
help  him  by  his  own  experience  when  in  1863 
Hamilton  entered  the  Naval  Academy.  The 
youngest  brother,  Frank,  was  then  fifteen  years 
old.  He  is  said  to  have  been  unusually  promising, 
and  Perkins  plans  that  he  shall  be  "the  home 
boy,  going  into  business  in  Concord  to  be  near 
the  family."  The  family  finances  at  this  time 
were  not  very  prosperous,  and  Perkins  gener 
ously  offered  Roger  the  funds  necessary  for  his 


IN  THE  WEST  GULF   SQUADRON    165 

medical   education    at   Harvard.     The   means, 
however,  were  found  elsewhere. 

A  glimpse  of  life  on  the  blockade  off  the  Texas 
coast  is  furnished  by  Perkins's  letters  written  in 
the  winter  of  1863-64.  Even  on  this  dreary  duty 
he  shows  his  active  nature  by  having  an  occa 
sional  adventure, — just  as  earlier  when  cruising 
for  slavers  on  the  African  coast. 

I  do  nothing  but  read  and  build  castles  in  the  air, 
for  no  sails  appear  within  the  lines  of  coast  allotted  to 
me.  Once  in  three  weeks  the  steamer  comes  along 
with  our  letters  and  provisions  —  fresh  meat,  pota 
toes  and  onions.  Once  or  twice  I  have  ventured  on 
shore,  but  it  is  very  risky,  and  the  last  time  I  was  so 
nearly  captured  that  it  is  a  wonder  now  that  I  am  not 
either  shot  or  a  prisoner  of  war.  I  would  go  ashore, 
just  for  a  change,  and,  being  unknown,  would  venture 
into  the  towns  and  villages,  buying  something  at  the 
stores  and  looking  about  a  little,  and  even  make  some 
friends  who  did  not  know  my  name;  but  the  last 
time  that  I  tried  this  a  man  said  to  me,  "I  know  you; 
you  are  the  captain  of  that  Yankee  gunboat  that 
blockades  off  here."  Some  one  with  whom  I  had  been 
sociable  contradicted  him.  A  crowd  began  to  gather, 
and  while  they  were  disputing  who  I  was,  I  hurried 
to  my  boat,  hidden  in  a  cove,  but  not  before  they  had 
started  in  pursuit  of  me  and  got  pretty  close,  too.  I 
was  well  frightened,  for  if  I  had  not  got  away,  it 
would  have  been  an  awful  scrape,  even  if  my  life  had 
been  saved. 

We  have  had  a  steady  gale  of  wind  which  has 


1 66      GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

blown  for  weeks  without  cessation,  and  the  ship  has 
done  nothing  but  roll,  roll,  roll,  all  the  time,  and  we 
are  perfectly  tired  out. 

The  monotony  was  occasionally  varied  by  a 
brush  with  the  enemy,  who  had  erected  batteries 
at  several  places  along  the  coast,  or  by  a  recon- 
noissance  with  the  army.  The  following  letter, 
written  by  Perkins  to  the  department,  reports 
one  of  the  latter  affairs :  — 

U.S.  GUNBOAT  Sciota, 
OFF  GALVESTON,  January  3,  1864. 

In  obedience  to  your  orders  of  the  i6th  ultimo,  I 
proceeded  to  the  Rio  Grande,  arrived  there  on  the 
1 9th  December,  and  boarded  the  brig  Penniman, 
from  New  York,  under  English  colors,  and  anchored 
in  our  waters.  She  had  an  assorted  cargo.  The  cap 
tain  being  at  Matamoras  with  all  the  papers,  I  sent  an 
officer  to  Matamoras  to  communicate  with  our  consul 
and  ascertain  if  the  brig's  papers  were  correct.  The 
officer  returned  the  following  day  and  stated  that  the 
consul  had  certified  that  the  brig  and  her  papers  were 
correct. 

Left  the  Rio  Grande  on  the  evening  of  the  2ist 
instant,  and  arrived  at  Pass  Cavallo  the  next  day  and 
reported  to  Captain  Strong  for  duty.  December  28, 
I  received  orders  from  Captain  Strong  to  proceed  up 
the  coast  about  thirty  miles  in  company  with  the 
Granite  City,  which  had  on  board  100  troops,  and 
assist  in  landing  them,  then  proceed  with  General 
Ransom  on  board  for  the  purpose  of  reconnoitering 
the  coast  as  far  as  Brazos  River.  At  twelve  o'clock 


IN   THE  WEST  GULF  SQUADRON     167 

that  night  I  got  under  way,  and  assisted  in  landing 
the  troops  at  Smith's  Landing  the  next  morning,  and 
then  proceeded  up  the  coast,  and  when  off  San 
Bernard  River  discovered  that  the  enemy  had  2000 
or  3000  men  at  work  throwing  up  breastworks  on 
the  northern  bank  of  the  river.  I  fired  a  few  shells 
and  dispersed  them.  On  arriving  at  the  Brazos  River, 
I  found  two  forts  on  each  side  of  the  river,  mounting 
seven  guns;  breastworks  thrown  up  in  the  rear  of  the 
forts,  and  large  numbers  of  troops  at  work  upon 
them.  Fired  several  shots  at  the  works.  At  five  P.M. 
returned  to  Smith's  Landing,  arriving  there  about 
eight  o'clock.  Captain  Lamson,  of  the  Granite  City, 
reported  that  our  troops  had  been  attacked  by  about 
800  Rebel  cavalry,  and  that  our  troops  had  in 
trenched  themselves  behind  logs  of  wood,  and  at  sun 
down  with  his  assistance  had  succeeded  in  keeping 
them  in  check.  The  Granite  City  having  used  up  all 
of  her  ammunition,  I  sent  Captain  Lamson  to  report 
to  Captain  Strong  and  get  his  assistance.  Owing  to  a 
heavy  swell  I  was  unable  to  communicate  with  or 
get  the  troops  off.  I  anchored  as  near  them  as  pos 
sible,  and  as  they  were  continually  attacked,  I  was 
obliged  to  keep  up  a  constant  fire  all  night.  On  the 
following  morning,  there  being  a  heavy  fog,  we  were 
unable  to  see  our  troops  until  about  ten  o'clock,  and  at 
the  same  time  discovered  a  Rebel  steamer  on  the  oppo 
site  side  of  the  peninsula,  apparently  landing  troops. 
I  opened  fire  upon  her  with  my  rifle,  and  compelled 
her  to  change  her  position,  she  going  farther  from  us 
and  opening  fire  with  her  guns  upon  our  troops, 
obliging  them  to  abandon  their  breastwork  and  to 
proceed  down  the  coast,  we  convoying  them  until 
dark,  when  losing  sight  of  them  we  anchored. 


168      GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

During  the  night  the  wind  changed  to  the  north 
ward,  and  in  the  morning  the  swell  having  gone 
down,  we  proceeded  down  the  coast,  and  when  about 
fifteen  miles  from  Pass  Cavallo  overtook  our  troops. 
We  embarked  them,  and  at  seven  o'clock  anchored 
off  Pass  Cavallo.  The  following  afternoon  I  sent  the 
troops  back  to  their  camp  by  the  Granite  City.1 

Lieutenant-Colonel  Hesseltine  commanding 
the  troops  engaged  in  this  reconnoissance  says  in 
his  report  :- 

Captain  Perkins,  of  the  Sciota,  excited  my  admira 
tion  by  the  daring  manner  in  which  he  exposed  his 
ship  through  the  night  in  the  surf  till  it  broke  all 
about  him,  that  he  might,  close  to  us,  lend  the  moral 
force  of  his  n-inch  guns  and  howitzers,  and  by  his 
gallantry  in  bringing  us  off  during  the  gale.2 

The  seven  months  Perkins  spent  in  blockading 
the  Texas  coast  did  not  end  without  a  substan 
tial  success.  On  April  4,  1864,  he  captured  a 
prize,  the  Mary  Sorley.  She  was  a  very  fast 
schooner  that  previous  to  the  war  had  been  a 
United  States  revenue  cutter  stationed  at 
Galveston. 

It  was  a  dark,  stormy  night  with  a  heavy  wind 
from  the  north  —  ideal  conditions  for  a  small 
blockade-runner  to  elude  a  single  Union  gunboat 

1  Naval  War  Records,  vol.  xx,  p.  743  2  Ibid.,  p.  748. 


IN  THE  WEST  GULF   SQUADRON    169 

lying  outside  the  bar.  But  Perkins,  suspecting 
that  an  attempt  might  be  made,  had  urged  the 
lookouts  to  be  extra  vigilant.  They  reported  the 
schooner  just  as  she  glided  past.  Immediately 
word  was  given  on  the  Sciota  to  slip  the  anchor 
and,  stirring  up  the  fires  which  had  been  partly 
banked,  put  on  a  full  head  of  steam.  The  chase 
began  in  dead  earnest,  but  before  the  Sciota  was 
well  under  way  the  schooner  had  been  swallowed 
up  in  night.  The  pursuit  then  became  mere 
guesswork  and  the  hope  of  making  a  capture 
grew  fainter  and  fainter.  The  blockade-runner 
was  undoubtedly  bound  for  Cuba,  and  when  last 
seen  was  on  the  usual  course,  which  would  take 
her  well  out  to  sea.  But  Perkins,  instead  of 
following  this,  soon  changed  his  course  to  the 
east  and  hugged  the  shore.  Luck  was  with  him, 
and  the  shadowy  outlines  were  again  sighted. 
If  before  on  the  Sciota  there  had  been  excite 
ment,  it  was  now  doubled.  The  schooner  had 
such  speed  that  with  the  favoring  wind  she 
could  make  almost  as  many  knots  as  the  gun 
boat.  And,  as  she  showed  no  lights,  by  gaining 
even  a  slight  advantage  she  might  still  make  her 
escape  in  the  darkness.  But  the  Sciota  clung  to 
her,  and  drawing  up  inch  by  inch  finally  came 


1 70      GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

close  enough  to  hail.  In  answer  to  Perkins's 
demand,  she  then  hove  to.  She  was  found  to  be 
loaded  with  257  bales  of  sea  cotton,  which 
especially  during  the  war  was  a  valuable  cargo 
for  a  small  craft.  Perkins  put  a  prize  crew  on 
board  and  sent  her  to  New  Orleans  for  adjudica 
tion.  He  expected  $3000  or  $4000  as  his  own 
share,  but  because  of  the  corruptness  of  the 
prize  courts  of  New  Orleans,  as  he  thought,  the 
award  to  the  officers  and  crew  of  the  Sciota,  was 
only  half  her  value. 

Soon  after  the  taking  of  the  Mary  Sorley,  Per 
kins  had  assurance  that  he  was  to  be  relieved 
from  duty  on  the  blockade.  He  waited  eagerly 
for  the  arrival  of  the  supply  steamer  which 
should  bring  the  officer  who  was  to  take  over  the 
command  of  his  ship,  but  was  doomed  to  disap 
pointment.  Nearly  two  months  later  the  head 
ing  of  his  letter  is  still,  "Off  Sabine  Pass, 
Texas." 

The  Circassian  to-day  brought  me  only  one  letter 
from  my  home,  and  did  not  bring  me  my  relief.  He 
has  been  ordered  some  time,  and  I  fully  expected  him 
in  this  steamer.  I  find  waiting  for  him  a  very  tan 
talizing  business,  and  I  fall  back  on  thinking  that 
whatever  happens,  I  certainly  shall  not  be  left  here 
all  summer.  . 


IN  THE  WEST  GULF   SQUADRON    171 

It  seems  like  a  living  death  to  be  on  the  blockade. 
When  the  Circassian,  which  is  here  now,  goes,  it  will 
be  twenty  days  before  we  see  another  sail.  We  get  all 
talked  out  on  board  ship,  and  sometimes  a  week 
passes  and  I  do  not  speak  a  word,  except  those  which 
my  duty  requires.  There  is  very  little  variety  on  my 
blockade,  though  it  is  an  extensive  one,  stretching 
from  Port  Cavallo  to  Sabine  Pass,  and  now  it  is  past 
time  for  my  relief  to  come  and  I  feel  very  impatient. 

One  would  think  I  might  grow  fat  leading  such  a 
quiet  life,  but  I  stick  at  the  old  notch  where  I  have 
been  for  five  years,  and  weigh  only  115  pounds. 

The  relief  came  the  very  last  of  June,  and 
Perkins  was  free  to  go  North  and  see  the  home 
that  had  been  so  constantly  in  his  thoughts  dur 
ing  the  preceding  months.  But  before  he  should 
see  his  home,  Farragut  had  service  for  him,  ser 
vice  that  was  to  rank  him  among  the  distin 
guished  commanders  of  the  Civil  War. 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE  BATTLE  OF  MOBILE  BAY 

AFTER  the  capture  of  New  Orleans,  if 
Farragut  had  been  permitted  to  plan  the 
next  operations,  instead  of  ascending  the  Missis 
sippi  and  making  two  futile  attacks  on  Vicks- 
burg,  he  would  have  proceeded  against  Mobile. 
At  the  time  it  would  have  been  an  easy  capture. 
Two  years  later,  when  the  department  ordered 
the  occupation  of  Mobile  Bay,  the  undertaking 
was  much  more  formidable.  The  Confederates 
had  vastly  improved  their  defenses;  not  only 
had  they  strengthened  the  forts  commanding 
the  entrances  to  the  bay,  but  they  had  made  the 
important  addition  of  several  gunboats  and 
the  ironclad  Tennessee,  a  ram  patterned  after 
the  Merrimac;  while  another  ironclad,  the  Nash 
ville,  was  approaching  completion.  Farragut  in 
formed  the  department  that  he  must  have  the 
support  of  several  monitors  and  a  land  force 
before  beginning  offensive  operations.  These 
were  promised,  but  were  not  available  till  six 
months  later.  Meanwhile  Farragut  was  lying 


THE  BATTLE  OF  MOBILE   BAY      175 

outside  the  bay,  compelled  to  be  inactive,  al 
though  he  knew  the  enemy  were  making  the 
most  of  their  long  warning. 

Perkins,  while  waiting  at  New  Orleans  for  a 
steamer  to  take  him  North,  after  being  relieved 
of  the  command  of  the  Sciota,  heard  that  Farra- 
gut  was  about  to  move  on  Mobile.  There  fol 
lowed  a  characteristically  prompt  change  in  his 
plans.  All  thought  of  rest  at  home  forgotten  in 
the  opportunity  for  action,  he  sought  Farragut 
at  his  station  off  Mobile  Bay  and  offered  to 
remain  and  take  part  in  the  approaching  battle. 
It  happened  that  Farragut  had  just  been  given 
two  new  monitors  made  by  James  B.  Eads  at 
St.  Louis  for  service  on  the  Mississippi.  Al 
though  Porter,  then  in  charge  of  them,  was  of 
the  opinion  that  they  were  not  sufficiently  sea 
worthy  to  go  to  Mobile,  the  imperative  need 
decided  Farragut  to  try  them.  Perkins  was 
given  command  of  one  of  these,  and  on  July  18 
was  ordered  to  go  to  New  Orleans  and  return 
with  his  vessel. 

Perkins  writes  from  New  Orleans  as  follows :  — 

July  22,  1864. 

I  arrived  here  from  Texas  a  few  days  ago,  and  have 
taken  command  of  a  large  double-turreted  monitor 


174      GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

named  the  Chickasaw.  I  volunteered  to  take  com 
mand  of  her  during  the  fight,  which  is  to  come  off  so 
soon  at  Mobile.  I  hope  I  shall  be  successful  and  come 
out  all  right.  I  shall  write  you  again  in  a  few  days,  or 
as  soon  as  I  get  off  Mobile  —  anyway,  by  the  time 
you  receive  this  the  action  will  be  over.  .  .  . 

I  have  not  time  to  accept  any  of  the  many  invita 
tions  I  receive.  I  have  not  even  time  to  write,  but  will 
write  a  long  letter  to  mother  as  soon  as  I  can.  She 
must  not  worry  about  me.  I  hope  everything  will 
come  out  for  the  best.  Life  is  not  very  long  anyway, 
and  I  am  not  afraid  to  die.  I  should  only  dread 
leaving  you  all  at  home. 

July  27,  1864. 

I  shall  go  to  sea  to-morrow  night,  and  as  soon  as 
the  ironclads  arrive  off  Mobile  the  fight  will  come  off. 
I  have  a  large  command  for  my  rank  —  a  crew  of  145 
men  and  25  officers.  She  carries  four  n-inch  guns 
and  has  two  turrets,  and  you  can  judge  of  her  power 
by  the  fact  that  it  requires  fifteen  engines  to  work  her. 

I  am  very  busy,  and  am  writing  at  this  moment 
among  a  lot  of  mechanics,  who  are  working  as  fast  as 
they  can  to  get  the  ship  in  order.  There  is  so  much 
noise,  and  there  is  so  much  to  be  done  that  I  can 
hardly  think.  The  cabin  is  so  hot  that  I  cannot  stay 
in  it.  When  we  are  under  steam  the  thermometer, 
below  decks,  goes  up  to  150°,  and  in  the  engine-room 
to  214°.  You  have  heard  of  the  man  who  lived  in  an 
oven!  Well,  the  cabin  of  the  monitor  does  not  leave 
much  for  the  imagination  to  do  in  considering  his 
case.  I  am  hurrying  everything  all  I  can,  and  live  in 
the  midst  of  confusion. 

I  hope  to  come  home  after  the  fight,  as  I  volun- 


THE  BATTLE  OF  MOBILE  BAY      175 

teered  only  for  that  fight;  everything  will  be  for  the 
best.  Dear  mother,  I  think  of  you  more  than  ever 
now,  and  you  will  always  be  with  me.  I  shall  write 
you  when  I  get  to  sea.  The  fight  will  be  over  before 
you  receive  this,  so  you  must  think  I  am  safe.  I 
should  like  to  have  seen  you  once  more  before  this 
fight.  Remember,  if  I  get  killed  it  will  be  an  honor 
able  death,  and  the  thought  should  partly  take  away 
your  sorrow. 

The  voyage  to  Mobile  Bay  was  not  without 
adventure.  Admiral  Porter  had  predicted  that 
in  the  least  swell  the  Chickasaw  would  break  to 
pieces.  But  though  the  monitor  encountered 
rough  weather  during  the  passage,  Perkins 
braved  the  storm  and  kept  on  till  he  had  reached 
his  destination.  The  real  peril,  which  indeed  all 
but  prevented  the  Chickasaw  from  ever  going  to 
Mobile,  had  been  met  in  the  Mississippi.  It  was 
when  the  monitor  was  nearing  the  bar  at  the 
mouth  of  the  river.  Perkins  had  been  called 
away  from  the  pilot  house  by  something  requir 
ing  attention  outside.  Glancing  up  a  moment 
later,  he  saw  the  course  had  been  changed  and 
that  the  ship  was  heading  for  a  wreck  close 
aboard.  The  striking  of  this  would  have  meant 
serious  damage  to  the  monitor,  not  unlikely  its 
total  loss.  Perkins  rushed  back  to  the  pilot 


176      GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

house,  and  wrenching  the  wheel  from  the  hands 
of  the  pilot  spun  it  round  till  the  ship  was 
headed  about  and  again  on  her  course. 

Then,  drawing  a  revolver  from  his  belt,  he 
covered  the  traitor,  saying,  "You  are  here  to 
take  this  ship  over  the  bar,  and  if  she  touches 

ground  or  anything  else,  I  '11  blow  your  d d 

brains  out!" 

The  pilot  grew  pale  and  weakly  protested, 
"The  bottom  is  lumpy,  and  the  best  pilot  in  the 
river  cannot  help  touching  at  times." 

But  the  little  captain  was  inexorable:  "All 
right,  if  you  love  the  Confederacy  better  than 
your  life!  Take  your  choice.  But  if  you  touch  a 
single  lump,  I'll  shoot  you." 

The  Chickasaw  crossed  the  bar  without  strik 
ing,  and  the  pilot  disappeared  the  moment  he 
was  permitted.1 

OFF  MOBILE  BAY,  August  2,  1864. 

I  arrived  here  yesterday  from  New  Orleans,  and 
am  now  anchored  in  company  with  the  Manhattan, 
an  ironclad,  and  the  Winnebago,  which  is  the  same 
kind  of  a  vessel  as  mine.  The  Chickasaw  looks  just 
like  the  back  of  a  great  turtle,  257  feet  long  and  57 
feet  beam.  I  wish  you  could  see  her.  We  are  about  a 
mile  and  a  half  from  Fort  Morgan.  The  wooden 

1  Related  by  Admiral  Belknap,  Bay  State  Monthly,  1884. 


THE  BATTLE  OF  MOBILE  BAY      177 

vessels  cannot  come  so  near,  as  this  is  within  easy 
range  of  the  enemy's  guns. 

The  Admiral  visited  me  yesterday  and  inspected 
this  ship.  He  has  paid  me  a  great  compliment  by 
giving  me  the  command  of  her,  for  all  the  other  iron 
clads  have  old  captains  for  their  commanders.  It  will 
be  a  "feather  in  my  cap"  if  I  come  out  all  right. 

I  have  been  very,  very  hard  at  work  getting  ready 
for  the  fight,  which  comes  off  in  two  days  now.  It  is 
expected  to  be  a  very  desperate  one,  though  I  feel  no 
doubt  but  that  we  shall  have  the  victory. 

I  am  very  tired  and  cannot  write  to  you  as  I  would 
wish;  but,  my  dear  mother,  I  think  of  you  nearly  all 
the  time,  and  I  know  I  have  done  as  you  would  wish 
me  to. 

August  4,  1864. 

The  vessel  is  so  hot  that  we  are  obliged  to  sleep  on 
deck;  and  I  am  a  little  used  up.  I  left  a  box  of  clothes 
and  other  things  on  board  the  Bermuda.  Should  you 
not  get  them  in  course  of  time,  write  for  them  to 
Captain  Jerry  Smith.  I  will  also  drop  him  a  line.  I 
ought  to  have  about  $8000  of  prize-money,  —  four 
for  the  capture  of  New  Orleans  and  four  for  the 
blockade-runner  Mary  Sorley. 

I  think  of  you  all  so  much  at  home,  and  I  love  you 
all  so  much,  I  wish  I  could  receive  a  few  lines  from 
you  just  before  the  fight.  I  know  I  shall  be  thinking 
of  you  and  I  shall  not  disgrace  myself,  no  matter  how 
hot  is  the  fight.  It  seems  such  a  long  time  since  I 
heard  from  home;  but  it  is  too  late  now.  O  mother! 
mother!  I  wish  I  could  put  my  arms  around  your 
neck  and  receive  your  blessing  and  good-bye  once 
more. 


178      GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

The  tenderness  of  these  letters  and  the  cour 
age  shown  throughout  the  battle  of  the  following 
day  illustrate  Perkins's  two  most  striking  char 
acteristics.  And  who  can  doubt  that  they  were 
closely  related,  or  that  the  loving,  prayerful 
thought  of  home  was  the  best  preparation  for 
a  desperate  conflict? 

Mobile,  after  the  fall  of  New  Orleans,  was  to 
the  Confederates  the  most  important  port  in  the 
Gulf.  Although  since  fairly  early  in  the  war  the 
blockade  in  the  Gulf  had  been  regarded  as 
effective,  it  repeatedly  happened  that  the  swift 
blockade-runners,  creeping  along  the  shore, 
would  make  a  dash,  and  before  the  Union  ships 
could  come  up  with  them  gain  the  protection  of 
the  forts  commanding  the  entrance  to  Mobile 
Bay. 

These  forts  were,  in  order  of  their  strength 
and  importance,  Morgan,  Gaines,  and  Powell. 
Fort  Morgan,  on  the  east  side  of  the  main  chan 
nel,  was  a  pentagonal,  bastioned  work,  with 
walls  four  feet  eight  inches  thick.  Mounting 
86  guns,  many  of  them  of  improved  type, 
and  garrisoned  by  640  men,  it  was  stronger 
than  Forts  Jackson  and  St.  Philip  combined. 
Fort  Gaines,  three  miles  to  the  northwest,  and 


THE  BATTLE  OF  MOBILE  BAY      179 

Fort  Powell,  six  miles  farther  in  the  same  direc 
tion,  while  weaker,  commanded  passes  that  were 
navigable  to  vessels  of  light  draft. 

It  was  on  the  morning  of  August  5  that,  all 
being  ready,  Farragut  advanced  with  his  fleet 
and  fought  the  stern  battle  for  the  possession  of 
Mobile  Bay.  Two  days  before,  General  Granger 
had  landed  with  Federal  troops  on  Dauphin 
Island  and  proceeded  to  the  investment  of  Fort 
Gaines.  Farragut  had  intended  to  advance 
simultaneously,  but  was  delayed  by  not  having 
his  naval  force  complete.  Besides  the  river 
monitors  Winnebago  and  Chickasaw,  he  was  to 
have  two  heavy  seagoing  monitors,  the  Man 
hattan  and  the  Tecumseh.  The  latter  did  not 
arrive  till  the  evening  of  August  4.  At  half- 
past  five  next  morning,  while  sipping  a  cup  of 
tea  at  the  conclusion  of  breakfast,  Farragut 
turned  to  his  fleet  captain  and  quietly  said, 
"Well,  Drayton,  we  might  as  well  get  under 
way."  In  a  minute  there  came  back  answering 
signals  from  the  expectant  captains  and  the 
ships  advanced  to  their  assigned  positions. 

Leading  the  column  of  the  fourteen  wooden 
ships  was  the  Brooklyn,  and  alongside  of  her  the 
Octorara;  these  were  lashed  together,  as  were 


i8o      GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

also  the  flagship  Hartford  and  the  Metacomet 
coming  next,  and  the  five  couples  that  followed. 
In  each  case  a  heavy  vessel  was  to  the  right  of  a 
light  vessel,  this  arrangement  being  used  to  pro 
tect  the  latter  from  the  fire  of  the  fort  while 
passing,  as  well  as  to  afford  a  means  of  carrying 
the  exposed  partner  through  to  safety  should 
she  be  disabled  by  the  heavy  guns  of  the  enemy, 
as  happened  in  one  case.  To  the  right  of  the 
Brooklyn  and  the  Octorara  and  somewhat  in 
advance,  was  the  Tecumseh;  in  column  behind 
her  were  the  other  monitors,  which  came  from 
their  anchorage  behind  Sand  Island  in  the  fol 
lowing  order:  the  Manhattan,  the  JPinnebago, 
and  the  Chickasaw.  Perkins  was  twenty-seven 
years  old  at  this  time  and  the  youngest  com 
manding  officer  in  the  fleet. 

Commander  T.  A.  M.  Craven  of  the  Tecumseh 
opened  the  battle  at  6.47,  firing  at  Fort  Morgan 
with  his  huge  1 5-inch  guns  —  the  largest  guns 
at  this  time  afloat.  The  fort  soon  replied, 
directing  the  shot,  not  on  the  monitors,  but  on 
the  advancing  Brooklyn  and  Hartford,  which 
because  of  the  narrow  channel  had  to  approach 
almost  bows  on.  This  kept  them  for  many 
minutes  under  a  disadvantage;  they  were 


THE  BATTLE  OF  MOBILE  BAY      181 

exposed  to  a  raking  fire,  —  by  which  a  well- 
aimed  shot  might  plough  the  length  of  the  ship, 
—  and  until  they  came  abreast  they  could  bring 
no  guns  except  a  few  bow  chasers  to  bear  in 
return.  To  offset  this  disadvantage  the  moni 
tors,  which  because  of  their  revolving  turrets 
could  fire  in  any  position,  were  by  Farragut's 
order  to  disconcert  the  gunners  in  the  land 
batteries.  Also  the  Tecumseh  and  the  Manhattan 
were  to  look  after  the  dread  Tennessee  and  make 
her  their  especial  antagonist. 

Protected  by  armor  eight  and  a  half  inches 
thick,  the  men  in  the  Chickasaw  were  fairly  safe 
from  the  shot  and  shell  of  that  period.  But  to 
direct  the  battle  through  the  narrow  slits  of  the 
conning  tower  was  extremely  difficult,  especially 
for  a  vessel  cooperating  with  a  large  fleet.  Per 
kins  avoided  this  by  standing  outside  the  con 
ning  tower,  giving  orders  by  word  of  mouth.  It 
was  an  exposed  position,  but  the  advantages  it 
offered  were  so  great  as  to  justify  the  risk. 

The  Chickasaw,  coming  at  the  rear  of  the 
column,  was  the  last  of  the  monitors  to  get 
within  striking  distance.  All  had  made  the 
mistake  of  firing  too  soon,  for  their  smoothbores, 
although  sending  a  projectile  of  great  size  and 


1 82      GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

weight,  had  but  a  moderately  short  range. 
Craven  in  the  Tecumseh  was  all  eagerness  to 
grapple  with  the  Tennessee,  and  after  his  first 
fire  on  the  fort  he  gave  orders  to  load  the  guns 
with  solid  steel  shot  and  yopound  charges  and 
hold  them  in  readiness  for  a  telling  blow  when 
the  monitor  should  come  to  close  quarters  with 
the  ram.  Meanwhile  the  other  monitors,  slowly 
nearing  the  batteries  of  Fort  Morgan,  had  re 
opened  the  conflict,  sending  in  1 5-inch  and  II- 
inch  shells.  These  had  some  effect  when  sec 
onded  by  the  fire  of  the  Brooklyn  and  Hartford; 
for  the  leading  ships  were  reaching  a  position 
where  they  could  use  their  broadsides.  The 
gunners  in  the  fort,  who  had  been  in  action  for 
half  an  hour,  were  enveloped  in  smoke,  partly 
from  their  own  guns  and  partly  from  those  of  the 
fleet,  the  powder  fumes  of  the  latter  being  blown 
upon  them  by  the  westerly  wind.  Their  fire  had 
perceptibly  slackened,  and,  as  Perkins  could 
see  through  the  rifts  in  the  smoke,  the  gunners 
were  being  driven  to  shelter.  But  suddenly  all 
went  wrong  in  the  Union  fleet. 

It  had  been  variously  reported  to  Farragut 
that  the  Confederates  had  planted  a  triple  row 
of  torpedoes  extending  west  from  a  certain  red 


THE  BATTLE  OF  MOBILE  BAY      183 

buoy,  closing  all  but  300  feet  of  the  main  channel 
immediately  next  to  Fort  Morgan.  The  torpedo 
had  up  to  this  time  been  a  rather  crude  mech 
anism,  decidedly  unreliable  in  operation.  Farra- 
gut  and  his  officers  were  not  greatly  alarmed 
because  of  perils  from  this  source,  but  that  the 
ships  might  be  exposed  to  no  unnecessary  risks 
the  Admiral  had  given  orders  that  both  columns 
should  pass  to  the  east  of  the  red  buoy,  that  is 
between  the  end  of  the  supposed  line  of  torpe 
does  and  the  fort. 

Craven  in  the  Tecumseh  was  rushing  forward 
to  meet  the  Tennessee,  which  had  come  out  from 
Fort  Morgan  and  was  steaming  slowly  west 
ward.  Either  in  his  eagerness  to  encounter  the 
foe,  he  had  disregarded  instructions  and  passing 
slightly  to  the  west  of  the  red  buoy  struck  one 
of  the  triple  line  of  torpedoes  that  had  been 
placed  there  —  which  was  Farragut's  belief;  or 
while  steaming  in  the  ship  channel  some  dis 
tance  from  the  dangerous  line,  he  struck  a  tor 
pedo  that  had  got  adrift  —  which  was  the  unan 
imous  opinion  of  the  Confederate  officers  on  the 
gunboat  Morgan,  lying  a  few  hundred  yards 
distant.  There  was  a  muffled  roar,  the  monitor 
careened  violently,  and  then  settled  so  quickly 


i84      GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

that  113  men  out  of  her  complement  of  135, 
including  Commander  Craven,  were  carried 
down  with  her.  The  torpedo  had  exploded 
under  her  turret,  and  within  two  minutes 
nothing  but  eddies  and  a  few  struggling  sailors 
marked  where  the  large  seagoing  monitor  had 
been. 

The  Brooklyn,  leading  the  wooden  ships,  had 
been  a  close  spectator  of  the  disaster.  A  lookout 
reported  suspicious-looking  objects  thought  to 
be  torpedo  buoys  almost  under  her  bows.  Her 
captain  at  once  backed  the  engines,  and  then, 
undecided,  stopped.  Nor  did  he  move  when 
signaled  by  Farragut  to  advance. 

The  Admiral  had  witnessed  from  the  rigging 
of  the  Hartford  the  sinking  of  the  Tecumseh,  fol 
lowed  by  the  uncertain  movements  of  the  van  of 
his  column.  It  was  for  him  a  moment  of  deep 
perplexity.  On  his  starboard  bow  lay  the 
Brooklyn  and  the  Octorara  athwart  the  channel, 
on  his  starboard  beam  were  the  Winnebago  and 
the  Chickasaw,  while  to  the  rear  the  column  was 
continuing  to  advance;  in  a  few  minutes  all 
would  be  such  hopeless  confusion  that  even 
retreat  might  be  impossible.  Farragut  recog 
nized  just  one  desperate  chance  for  victory  and 


THE  BATTLE  OF  MOBILE  BAY      185 

resolved  to  take  it.  Backing  the  engines  of  the 
Metacomet  and  driving  ahead  those  of  the  Hart- 
ford,  he  swung  out  of  the  column  and  passing  to 
the  west  of  the  Brooklyn  and  the  Octorara 
headed  directly  across  the  line  of  torpedoes. 
Men  on  board  said  they  heard  the  primers  snap, 
but  no  torpedo  exploded.  The  other  ships  fol 
lowed  in  the  Hartford's  wake  and  the  columns 
straightened  out  as  by  magic.  They  had  still  the 
Confederate  ram  Tennessee  and  the  gunboats 
Morgan,  Gaines,  and  Selma  to  meet,  but  they 
had  succeeded  in  entering  the  bay. 

Meanwhile  the  Union  monitors,  so  far  as  they 
were  able,  had  been  engaging  Fort  Morgan.  The 
Manhattan  could  use  but  one  of  her  guns,  the 
vent  of  the  other  having  been  closed  by  rust. 
The  Winnebago  found  it  impossible  to  revolve 
her  turrets,  the  machinery  for  doing  so  having 
broken  down;  and  consequently  her  guns  could 
be  aimed  only  by  altering  the  position  of  the 
vessel.  The  Chickasaw  also  presented  many 
difficulties  in  operation,  but  her  n-inch  guns 
were  worked  to  their  utmost  speed,  and  she 
fired  more  shells  into  the  fort  than  all  the  other 
monitors  combined.  According  to  her  log  1  she 
1  Naval  War  Records,  vol.  xxi,  pp.  786-87. 


1 86      GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

expended  on  Fort  Morgan  at  this  time  seventy- 
five  5-second  shells.  In  return,  the  Confederates 
succeeded  several  times  in  hitting  her,  one  shell 
breaking  through  her  deck  and  setting  fire  to  the 
hammocks  below.  It  is  said  that  as  the  Chicka- 
saw  passed  the  Hartford,  when  nearly  abreast  of 
Fort  Morgan,  the  officers  of  the  flagship  were 
stirred  by  seeing  Perkins,  who,  far  from  being 
dismayed  by  the  fire  of  the  fort  and  the  danger 
of  torpedoes,  "was  on  top  of  the  turret,  waving 
his  hat  and  dancing  about  with  delight  and 
excitement."  1  The  commander  was,  for  the 
moment,  the  boy  who  could  not  suppress  his 
exuberant  spirits  as  he  warmed  up  to  the  game. 
At  the  time  of  the  torpedoing  of  the  Tecumseh, 
Perkins  was  in  the  forward  turret  directing  a 
crew  in  sighting  one  of  the  guns.  When  the  gun 
ners  saw  the  end  of  the  strongest  monitor,  they 
were  seized  by  panic  and  were  about  to  rush 
from  the  turret;  but  the  little  captain  sprang 
before  them  and  threatened  to  shoot  the  first 
man  who  left  his  post.  One  weakling  threw  him 
self  at  his  feet,  exclaiming,  "Let  me  out,  Cap 
tain,  let  me  out."  A  kick  brought  the  man  to  his 
senses,  and  from  that  time  there  was  nothing  in 
1  Mahan,  Admiral  Farragut,  p.  276. 


THE  BATTLE  OF  MOBILE  BAY      187 

the  conduct  of  the  gunners  but  what  merited 
praise. 

The  Chickasaw  steamed  on  past  the  fort  when 
half  the  fleet  had  effected  their  entrance  into  the 
bay.1  Already  the  three  Confederate  gunboats 
had  fled;  the  Selma  was  overtaken  and  captured, 
while  the  Morgan  and  Gaines  escaped  to  Fort 
Morgan,  the  latter  vessel  badly  damaged  and 
sinking.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Tennessee  had 
tried  successively  to  ram  the  Hartford,  the 
Brooklyn,  the  Richmond,  and  the  Lackazvanna,  as 
they  entered  the  bay.  Since,  however,  the  ad 
vantage  of  speed  lay  with  the  Union  ships  they 
easily  avoided  her  prow,  though  not  escaping 
with  like  impunity  from  her  heavy  rifled  shells. 
The  Chickasaw  seized  the  opportunity  of  firing 
several  solid  I  i-inch  shot  at  the  monster  as  she 
passed  to  the  west,  and  then  in  obedience  to  or 
ders  steamed  slowly  north  in  the  wake  of  the 
wooden  ships. 

When  Farragut  had  reached  a  point  about 
four  miles  up  the  bay  where  the  channel  widened 
and  made  a  large  pocket,  he  gave  the  signal  to 
anchor.  Soon  the  men  were  relaxing  after  the 
intense  strain  and  were  making  preparations  for 

1  Naval  War  Records,  vol.  xxi,  p.  532. 


i88      GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

breakfast.  The  Union  fleet  had  been  successful 
in  entering  the  bay,  but  as  Farragut  well  knew 
they  had  in  the  uninjured  Tennessee  their  most 
formidable  enemy  yet  to  reckon  with.  He  was 
planning  to  force  the  issue  by  going  himself  that 
evening  in  the  Manhattan,  supported  by  the 
other  monitors,  and  attacking  the  ram  at  anchor 
under  Fort  Morgan.  But  Admiral  Buchanan, 
commanding  the  Tennessee,  made  this  unneces 
sary;  for,  as  the  lookouts  on  the  Hartford  re 
ported,  at  8.45,  before  the  rear  of  the  Union 
column  had  come  to  anchor,  the  Tennessee  was 
coming  out  and  heading  for  the  Union  flagship. 
Mess  gear  was  hurriedly  put  away.  The 
stronger  wooden  ships  were  ordered  to  attack 
"not  only  with  their  guns,  but  bows  on  at  full 
speed."  Dr.  Palmer,  the  fleet  surgeon,  about  to 
leave  the  Hartford  in  going  his  rounds,  was 
despatched  to  the  monitors  with  word  that  they 
also  join  in  the  attack.  "Happy  as  my  friend 
Perkins  (of  the  Chickasaw)  habitually  is,"  he 
noted  in  his  diary,  "I  thought  he  would  turn  a 
somersault  overboard  with  joy  when  I  told  him, 
'The  Admiral  wants  you  to  go  at  once  and  fight 
that  Tennessee.'"  l 

1  Quoted  by  Mahan,  Admiral  Farragul,  p.  285. 


THE  BATTLE  OF  MOBILE  BAY      189 

The  Union  ironclads  had  the  same  defect  as 
their  approaching  enemy  —  they  were  slow  and 
difficult  to  maneuver.  Thus  it  was  that  the 
wooden  Monongahela,  which  had  not  come  to 
anchor,  began  the  second  engagement.  She 
struck  the  Tennessee  a  blow  that  carried  away 
her  own  iron  prow,  but  did  no  perceptible  harm 
to  her  foe.  The  Lackawanna  followed  with  as 
little  result.  The  Hartford  struck  but  a  glancing 
blow,  for  the  ram  had  turned  towards  the  Union 
flagship  on  her  approach.  As  the  Hartford 
scraped  past,  she  fired  seven  9-inch  guns  of  her 
port  broadside,  but  the  shot  bounded  harmlessly 
off.  In  reply  the  Tennessee  fired  only  one  shell, 
but  this,  passing  through  the  berth  deck  of  the 
Hartford,  killed  five  men  and  wounded  eight. 
The  further  attempts  at  ramming  were  even 
less  successful,  and  the  Lackawanna  by  a  con 
fusion  in  maneuvers,  instead  of  striking  the 
Confederate  ironclad,  crashed  into  her  own  flag 
ship  and  but  narrowly  escaped  sending  her  to  the 
bottom. 

Meanwhile  the  monitors  had  come  up  and 
were  attacking  the  ram.  The  Manhattan  with 
her  one  available  gun  could  not  fire  often,  but 
succeeded  in  planting  a  1 5-inch  shot  that  pene- 


190      GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

trated  the  armor  and  woodwork  of  the  case 
mates,  and  was  held  only  by  the  netting  inside. 
The  Winnebago  was  not  an  idle  spectator,  but  as 
her  guns  could  be  aimed  only  by  pointing  the 
ship  her  effectiveness  was  considerably  dimin 
ished.  It  was  the  Chickasaw  that  demonstrated 
the  power  of  the  monitors  and  did  more  harm  to 
the  ram  than  did  any  other  of  the  Union  vessels. 
That  there  were  difficulties  under  which  the 
Chickasaw  was  operated  has  already  been  sug 
gested.  Before  leaving  the  Mississippi,  Perkins 
had  reported  the  steering  gear  as  "unsafe  and 
inapplicable,"  1  and  now  in  the  stress  of  battle  it 
broke  down;  however,  he  succeeded  in  maneu 
vering  his  ship  by  her  engines.  The  vessel  amid 
ships  was  becoming  hotter  and  hotter.  The  ven 
tilating  apparatus  had  broken  down,  for  when 
the  guns  had  been  fired  over  the  blower  hatches, 
the  concussion  burst  the  air  conductors;  the 
powder  fumes  were  then  carried  below,  fouling 
the  air  and  threatening  to  ignite  the  powder  that 
was  being  passed  up  to  the  turrets.2  These 
troubles,  however,  were  not  betrayed  in  the 
determined  and  persistent  attack. 

1  Naval  War  Records,  vol.  xxi,  p.  389. 
8  Ibid.,  p.  681. 


THE  BATTLE  OF  MOBILE  BAY      191 

According  to  the  log  of  the  Chickasaw,  when 
Dr.  Palmer  came  with  the  Admiral's  order,  - 

Steam  being  low  on  account  of  the  injuries  to  the 
smokestack  by  the  enemy,  tallow  and  coal  tar  were 
put  into  the  furnaces,  and  we  made  rapidly  for  the 
ram.1 

The  Tennessee  having  been  rammed  several 
times  was  as  a  result  beginning  to  leak.  This  and 
the  increasing  difficulty  of  keeping  up  steam 
made  Buchanan  fear  for  the  safety  of  his  vessel. 
Despairing  of  success  against  the  Union  fleet,  he 
gave  orders,  after  the  encounter  with  the 
Hartford,  to  retreat  to  Fort  Morgan. 

But  the  Chickasaw,  passing  to  the  rear  of  the 
Richmond, 2  already  had  taken  a  position  under 
the  stern  of  the  dread  Confederate,  and  this  she 
persistently  held  until  the  end  of  the  battle, 
never  more  than  fifty  yards  distant  and  some 
times  as  near  as  ten.  Although  her  shot,  like 
that  of  the  Hartford,  could  not  penetrate  the 
armor  of  the  ram,  she  kept  pounding  away  on  all 
the  exposed  equipment  and  on  the  after  case 
mate.  The  effect  was  soon  evident,  and  accord 
ing  to  an  impartial  observer,  an  officer  of  the 
Richmond,  it  was  a  shot  fired  by  the  Chickasaw 

1  Naval  Waf  Records,  vol.  xxi,  p.  786. 
8  Ibid.,  p.  847. 


192      GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

at  this  time  that  carried  away  the  smokestack 
of  the  Tennessee.1  This  injury  made  it  virtually 
impossible  to  keep  up  steam,  and  the  smoke 
threatened  to  suffocate  the  men  in  the  case 
mates. 

When  the  Chickasaw  had  come  close  under  the 
stern  of  the  ram  she  hurled  two  solid  n-inch 
shot  from  her  forward  turret  against  the  cover  of 
the  enemy's  stern  port.  The  cover  resisted  the 
blow,  but  was  so  jammed  that  it  could  not  be 
opened  to  run  out  the  gun.  Admiral  Buchanan, 
who  was  superintending  the  gun  crews,  at  once 
hurried  aft  with  a  machinist  to  repair  the  cover. 
But  the  persistent  monitor  now  brought  the  guns 
of  her  after  turret  into  play.  One  shot  struck  the 
port  cover  again;  this  instantly  killed  a  man 
engaged  in  removing  the  pivot  bolt  upon  which 
the  cover  revolved,  also  mortally  wounded  one 
of  the  gun  crew,  and  fractured  Admiral  Buchan 
an's  leg.  The  admiral's  wound  was  so  serious 
that  he  had  to  call  Commander  J.  D.  Johnston 
and  give  the  command  of  the  ship  over  to  him. 
The  other  gun  of  this  turret,  fired  at  almost  the 
same  moment,  —  according  to  the  correspon 
dent  of  the  New  York  Herald,  an  eyewitness,  — 
1  See  log  of  the  Richmond,  Naval  War  Records,  vol.  xxi,  p.  847. 


THE  BATTLE  OF  MOBILE  BAY      193 

carried  away  the  wheel  chains  of  the  ram,  which 
by  a  colossal  error  in  construction  lay  exposed  on 
the  deck.  This  last  injury  rendered  her  unman 
ageable. 

The  Tennessee  had  not  been  rammed  for  some 
minutes  by  the  wooden  ships,  because  of  their 
confusion  in  maneuvering  for  position,  but  she 
was  in  a  desperate  situation;  the  Chickasaw  had 
continued  close  under  her  stern,  firing  from  both 
turrets  as  rapidly  as  the  guns  could  be  loaded. 
Johnston  states  in  his  report:  — 

The  shot  were  fairly  raining  upon  the  after  end  of 
the  shield,  which  was  now  so  thoroughly  shattered 
that  in  a  few  moments  it  would  have  fallen  and 
exposed  the  gundeck  to  a  raking  fire  of  shell  and 
grape.1 

Realizing  that  a  continuation  of  the  fight 
meant  only  the  sacrifice  of  his  officers  and  men, 
Johnston  lowered  the  flag,  which  during  the  last 
of  the  battle  had  been  flying  from  the  handle  of  a 
gun  scraper  stuck  up  through  the  grating;  then 
coming  out  on  the  shield  he  hoisted  the  white 
flag  in  surrender.  The  Chickasaw  was  the  near 
est  of  the  Union  ships  at  this  time,  but  Per 
kins  with  characteristic  modesty  allowed  an 
older  officer,  Captain  LeRoy  of  the  Ossipee,  to 

1  Naval  War  Records,  vol.  xxi,  p.  580. 


194      GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

have  the  honor  of  receiving  the  formal  surrender 
of  the  ram.  This  was  shortly  after  ten  o'clock  in 
the  morning;  the  engagement  had  lasted  three 
hours  and  a  quarter  with  a  half  hour's  inter 
mission.  Later  passing  a  line  to  the  prize,  the 
Chickasaw  towed  her  slowly  to  the  anchorage  of 
the  Union  fleet. 

Almost  immediately,  further  heavy  service 
devolved  upon  the  Chickasaw,  and  it  was  not 
until  several  days  later  that  Perkins  had  time 
to  write  at  any  length.  The  first  letter  was 
characterized  by  unusual  brevity,  suggesting  the 
pressure  he  was  under:  — 

U.S.  IRONCLAD  Chickasaw, 
MOBILE  BAY,  August  6,  1864. 

DEAR  MOTHER,  — 

All  right  — 

Your  affectionate  son, 

GEORGE. 

Two  days  later  he  wrote  again  to  his 
mother:  — 

I  have  but  a  moment  to  write.  I  want  to  tell  you  I 
am  well.  We  had  a  desperate  fight  on  the  morning 
of  the  fifth.  No  one  was  hurt  on  board  my  vessel,  but 
the  squadron  lost  a  good  many.  Captain  Craven  of 
the  Tecumseh  was  blown  up  by  a  torpedo  just  ahead 
of  me.  I  will  write  you  more  about  it  when  I  have 
time.  I  had  a  hard  fight  with  the  Rebel  ram  Ten- 


THE   BATTLE  OF  MOBILE  BAY      195 

nessee,  and  have  been  highly  complimented  by  the 
Admiral  and  other  old  officers  for  the  part  I  took  in 
the  engagement.  I  have  been  fighting  forts  every 
day  since,  the  other  ironclads  being  disabled.  Fort 
Gaines  surrendered  this  morning.  I  shelled  Fort 
Powell  and  during  the  night  she  blew  up.  Every  one 
is  in  a  high  state  of  excitement.  It  is  nothing  now  but 
fight,  fight,  all  the  time.  I  told  you  I  would  come  out 
all  right.  I  will  write  again  in  a  few  days. 

There  follows  a  postscript,  in  which  the  modest 
lad,  evidently  remembering  how  the  proud  par 
ents  had  allowed  his  New  Orleans  battle  letter  to 
be  published,  especially  enjoins,  "Don't  let  any 
one  see  this  for  the  world."  The  biographer  can 
hardly  be  regarded,  however,  as  betraying  con 
fidence  when  he  repeats  what  is  now  acknowl 
edged  history.  The  postscript  contained  what 
Perkins  knew  would  delight  the  mother  heart:  — 

I  have  the  credit  of  taking  the  Rebel  ram  Tennessee 
and  wounding  Admiral  Buchanan.  Captain  Jenkins 
of  the  Richmond  told  the  Admiral  I  ought  to  be  pro 
moted  at  once  for  my  gallantry  in  this  fight. 

When  the  first  news,  that  of  the  passing  of 
Fort  Morgan  and  the  capture  of  the  Tennessee, 
was  received,  it  was  heralded  as  a  notable  vic 
tory  for  the  Union  Navy.  Yet  certain  English 
tacticians  asserted,  and  with  some  show  of 
reason,  that  Farragut  had  placed  his  fleet  in  an 


196      GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

untenable  position.  For  so  long  as  three  Con 
federate  forts  controlled  the  approaches  to 
Mobile  Bay  the  fleet  could  not  be  reached  by  the 
transports  and  was  cut  off  from  supplies.  How 
ever,  no  one  understood  better  than  Farragut 
the  value  of  prompt  action. 

Four  hours  after  the  taking  of  the  Tennessee, 
the  Chickasaw,  in  obedience  to  the  Admiral's 
orders,  got  under  way  and  advanced  on  Fort 
Powell.  In  this,  since  the  other  monitors  had 
been  disabled,  she  acted  singly.  The  officers  and 
crew  were  almost  exhausted  by  the  strain  of  the 
morning's  fight,  and  also  by  the  excessive  heat, 
gas,  and  smoke,  below  decks.  Nevertheless,  they 
continued  to  give  a  good  account  of  themselves. 
Disregarding  the  fire  of  the  fort,  the  Chickasaw 
steamed  to  within  350  yards  of  it,  where  lay 
the  barge  Ingomar  loaded  with  shovels,  pick 
axes,  and  wheelbarrows.  After  seizing  this,  the 
monitor  opened  on  the  fort  with  5-second  shells 
fired  at  regular  intervals.  The  fort  was  well 
provisioned,  and  its  front  face  was  strongly 
defended ;  but  the  rear,  off  which  lay  the  Chick- 
asazv,  was  less  than  half  finished.  A  y-inch 
Brooke  gun  was  brought  to  bear  on  the  assail 
ant,  and  put  a  shell  through  her  smokestack  but 


THE   BATTLE  OF  MOBILE  BAY      197 

did  no  further  damage.  Other  details  may  be 
gathered  from  the  report  of  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Williams,  C.S.A.,  commanding  the  post:  — 

The  ironclad's  fire  made  it  impossible  to  man  the 
two  guns  in  the  rear,  and  I  made  no  attempt  to  do  so. 
The  elevating  machine  of  the  lo-inch  columbiad  was 
broken  by  a  fragment  of  shell.  A  shell  entered  one  of 
the  sally-ports,  which  are  not  traversed  in  the  rear, 
passed  entirely  through  the  bombproof,  and  buried 
itself  in  the  opposite  wall.  Fortunately  it  did  not 
explode.  The  shells  exploding  in  the  face  of  the  work 
displaced  the  sand  so  rapidly  that  I  was  convinced 
unless  the  ironclad  was  driven  off  it  would  explode 
my  magazine  and  make  the  bombproof  chambers 
untenable  in  two  days  at  the  furthest.  To  drive  it 
from  its  position  I  believed  impossible  with  my 
imperfect  work.1 

The  Chickasaw  continued  the  bombardment 
until  night,  when  she  withdrew.  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Williams,  fearing  that  his  garrison 
would  be  captured  with  the  fort  if  he  should 
delay,  evacuated  early  that  evening  leaving  an 
officer  to  spike  the  guns  and  to  explode  the 
magazine.  The  fort  blew  up  at  10.30.  At  4.45 
next  morning  the  Chickasaw  got  under  way  and 
steamed  to  within  100  yards  of  the  fort.  It  was 
now  but  a  silent,  smoking  ruin.  Calling  away 
the  gig,  Perkins  went  to  the  fort  and  soon  had 

1  Naval  War  Records,  vol.  xxi,  p.  560. 


198      GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

the  satisfaction  of  seeing  the  flag  of  the  Union 
flying.1 

The  next  point  of  attention  was  Fort  Gaines 
on  the  eastern  extremity  of  Dauphin  Island, 
opposite  Fort  Morgan.  The  land  forces  under 
General  Granger,  cooperating  with  the  fleet,  had 
three  days  before  landed  on  this  island  and 
moved  up  to  the  works.  A  few  hours  after  Fort 
Powell  had  been  taken,  Perkins  stood  over  to 
Dauphin  Island  that  he  might  render  assistance 
if  needed.  For  an  hour  and  more  that  afternoon 
he  attempted  to  open  communications  with  the 
land  forces  by  signali  ng,  but  without  result.  Then 
he  approached  to  within  nearly  a  mile  of  the  fort 
and  for  two  hours  fired  5-second  and  losecond 
shells.  The  marksmanship  in  the  Chickasaw 
again  was  good  and  many  of  the  shells  burst 
within  the  fort.  Meanwhile  the  Confederate 
batteries  had  replied,  but  none  of  their  shot 
struck  the  monitor.  The  next  evening,  negotia 
tions  were  opened  between  the  opposing  forces, 
and  early  on  the  following  morning  the  entire 
garrison  of  Fort  Gaines,  consisting  of  over  800 
men,  surrendered  to  the  combined  forces  of  the 
army  and  navy. 

1  Naval  War  Records,  vol.  xxi,  p.  787. 


THE  BATTLE  OF  MOBILE  BAY      199 

Extracts  from  the  log  of  the  Chickasaw  show 
how  busy  were  the  days  that  followed:  — 

August  9.  —  At  6.30  A.M.  came  to  anchor  off  Pilot 
Town.  At  seven  sent  the  launch  ashore.  Despatched 
the  gig  in  chase  of  a  boat  running  up  the  bay.  At 
9  A.M.  gig  returned  with  boat  and  three  prisoners. 
.  .  .  Launch  returned  with  captured  sloop. 

August  13.  —  At  5.35  P.M.  opened  fire  on  Fort 
Morgan.  At  6.25  ceased  firing  and  dropped  out  of 
range  and  came  to  anchor.  Expended  15  shell.  At 
II  P.M.  hove  up  anchor  and  commenced  firing  15- 
second  shell  half-hourly  at  Fort  Morgan. 

Entries  in  the  log-book,  of  a  like  nature,  are  to 
be  found  up  to  the  time  of  the  surrender  of  Fort 
Morgan,  August  23.  The  home  letters  during 
this  period  though  short  are  too  important  to  be 
passed  by. 

U.S.  IRONCLAD  Chickasaw, 
MOBILE  BAY,  August  n,  1864. 

It  is  a  rainy,  stormy  day,  and  we  are  lying  quiet 
about  1500  yards  from  Fort  Morgan.  The  fort  has 
not  surrendered  yet,  but  must  in  a  short  time.  The 
army  has  landed  in  the  rear,  and  is  putting  up  bat 
teries  about  400  yards  distant  from  it.  We  have  not 
opened  on  the  fort  to-day,  and  so  far  not  a  single  gun 
has  been  fired.  The  Rebels  are  all  inside,  and  we  can 
see  each  other  very  plainly.  I  do  not  think  they  like 
the  looks  of  the  ironclads.  I  have  no  idea  whether 
the  Admiral  intends  attacking  Mobile  or  not.  .  .  . 

The  reason  I  am  of  so  much  importance  is  because 


200      GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

the  other  monitors  cannot  work  their  turrets.  I  have 
a  very  large  command  and  of  course  feel  very  proud 
that  so  much  confidence  should  be  placed  in  me.  I 
shall  soon  come  home  and  see  you  all,  and  have  you 
share  my  honors  with  me. 

FOUR  MILES  BELOW  MOBILE  CITY, 
August  1 6,  1864. 

I  have  been  hard  at  work  since  I  have  been  in  this 
bay,  fighting  almost  continually.  We  are  all  nearly 
used  up  on  board  this  vessel,  mine  being  the  only 
effective  ironclad  is  obliged  to  be  continually  in 
motion. 

I  am  in  plain  sight  of  the  city  with  its  defenses, 
ironclads,  batteries,  rams,  etc.  Yesterday  I  had  a 
little  fight  with  the  rams  across  the  obstructions. 
The  channel  to  Mobile  I  think  is  entirely  obstructed 
with  spiles,  sunken  wrecks,  torpedoes,  etc.  The 
Rebs  have  two  very  good-looking  rams.  I  am  now 
in  the  advance,  but  I  am  afraid  it  will  be  hard  to 
clear  the  obstructions  in  the  channel. 

August  17. 

I  am  now  almost  near  enough  to  shell  Mobile,  and 
I  have  plenty  of  excitement.  Yesterday  my  boats 
had  a  little  fight  with  some  guerrillas  and  I  had  two 
men  wounded.  Fort  Morgan  has  not  surrendered 
yet,  but  this  does  not  affect  us  much,  as  we  can  get  all 
our  supplies  through  Grant's  Pass. 

August  18. 

We  are  still  having  lively  times  around  Fort 
Morgan.  Last  night  a  couple  of  Rebel  rams  came 
out,  and  we  lay  looking  at  each  other  all  night.  This 


THE  BATTLE  OF  MOBILE  BAY      201 

morning  I  expected  a  fight,  but  they  went  back  to  the 
city. 

I  have  not  been  very  well  for  a  day  or  so.  I  have 
to  be  around  all  the  time,  day  and  night,  and  these 
hot  ironclads  use  me  up.  I  am  writing  now  on  board 
Captain  Jouett's  ship,  the  Metacomet.  He  is  a  great 
friend  of  mine,  and  a  mighty  fascinating  fellow. 

The  surrender  of  Fort  Morgan  occurred 
about  three  weeks  after  Farragut  had  first  chal 
lenged  its  batteries  on  entering  the  bay.  General 
Granger,  commanding  the  Union  forces,  briefly 
describes  the  incidents  leading  up  to  it:- 

On  the  22d,  at  daylight,  the  bombardment  opened 
from  land  and  water,  and  the  fort  was  silent.  The 
monitors  Chickasaw,  Winnebago,  and  Manhattan,  of 
the  navy,  with  the  ironclad  Tennessee,  lay  up  at  close 
range,  and,  with  the  larger  vessels  of  the  fleet  outside, 
delivered  their  fire  with  accuracy  and  effect.  I  have 
already  had  occasion  to  remark  the  precision  with 
which  the  guns  upon  the  vessels  were  handled.  The 
firing  from  the  land  was  excellent,  particularly  that 
from  Battery  Farragut  and  the  mortar  batteries. 
Early  on  the  morning  of  the  23d,  a  white  flag  was 
displayed  by  the  fort,  and  under  its  walls  I  received 
an  offer  to  capitulate,  addressed  to  Rear-Admiral 
Farragut  and  myself.1 

Perkins  writes  to  his  mother  on  August  24:  — 
Fort  Morgan   surrendered  yesterday,   and  I   am 
1  Loyall  Farragut,  Life  of  Farragut,  p.  467. 


202      GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

having  a  rest  to-day.  We  were  very  glad  of  the  sur 
render  on  board  this  ship,  for  all  my  officers  and  men 
were  getting  perfectly  worn  out  from  having  been 
so  constantly  under  fire.  Now  for  Mobile.  The  Ad 
miral  is  in  a  hurry  for  me  to  get  up  the  bay,  for,  as 
I  have  said  before,  I  am  the  only  effective  ironclad 
he  has. 

Captain  Strong  of  the  Monongahela,  who  was  sen 
ior  officer  on  the  coast  of  Texas,  has  been  ordered 
home  for  repairs.  He  complimented  me  by  saying, 
"I  am  coming  back  soon  and  will  bring  you  your 
promotion."  I  am  so  glad,  mother,  for  your  sake, 
that  I  have  been  so  successful.  I  am  praised  and 
flattered  by  every  one  wherever  I  go.  The  Admiral 
speaks  of  me  highly  to  every  one.  Captain  Jenkins  of 
the  Richmond,  who  is  one  of  the  kindest  and  best  of 
men,  talks  about  me  as  enthusiastically  as  if  he 
were  my  father,  and  always  calls  me  "his  pet." 
After  the  battle  of  Mobile  Bay,  he  told  Admiral  Far- 
ragut  on  no  account  to  let  me  go  home  till  all  the 
fighting  here  was  over,  for  they  could  not  get  along 
without  me. 

The  other  day  when  I  was  sick,  he  sent  his  surgeon 
up,  on  a  steamer  from  the  lower  bay,  to  take  care  of 
me  and  to  bring  me  a  lot  of  good  things  to  eat.  I 
called  on  him  to-day,  and  he  asked  if  my  sisters 
would  not  thank  him  for  making  a  hero  of  me. 
Perhaps  I  ought  not  to  tell  you  all  these  things;  but 
I  do  like  to  have  you  know  of  any  pleasant  or  suc 
cessful  thing  that  happens  to  me.  .  .  . 

I  was  talking  to  the  Admiral  to-day,  —  he  talks  a 
great  deal  to  me  when  I  go  to  see  him,  —  when,  all  at 
once,  he  fainted  away.  He  is  not  very  well,  and  is  all 
tired  out.  It  gave  me  a  shock,  for  it  shows  how 


THE   BATTLE  OF  MOBILE   BAY      203 

exhausted  he  is;  and  his  health  is  not  very  good  any 
way.  He  is  a  mighty  fine  old  fellow.  I  want  to  come 
home  just  to  tell  you  about  all  I  have  been  doing. 
It  has  been  so  exciting  that  it  seems  as  if  I  had  a  great 
deal  to  say.  If  I  could  talk  instead  of  write,  I  could 
tell  you  all  so  much  better. 

For  such  service  it  seems  strange  to  us  of  a 
later  generation  that  Perkins  did  not  at  once 
gain  promotion.  However,  we  must  consider  the 
difference  in  times  and  recollect  that  very  few 
naval  officers  in  the  Civil  War  were  advanced 
because  of  distinguished  service.  Perhaps  it 
makes  their  deeds  stand  out  the  more  nobly 
because  of  their  disinterestedness.  A  wide  recog 
nition  of  what  Perkins  had  done  was  not  lacking. 
The  New  York  Herald,  the  St.  Louis  Democrat, 
Harper's  Magazine,  and  many  other  journals 
spoke  in  his  praise.  Suffice  it  here  to  quote  from 
the  published  statements  of  three  who  had  a 
part  in  the  battle  of  Mobile  Bay. 

W.  H.  Shock,  Farragut's  fleet  engineer,  wrote 
to  James  B.  Eads,  of  St.  Louis,  six  days  after  the 
battle  :- 

In  the  mean  time  the  Chickasaw  was  playing 
around  her  [the  Tennessee},  endeavoring  to  find  a 
weak  spot  if  one  existed.  It  was  soon  discovered  that 
she  had  one,  and  that  was  the  after-gun  port.  Into 


204       GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

this  the  Chickasaw  sent  a  shell,  which  killed  part  of 
the  gun  crew,  and  wounded  Admiral  Buchanan. 
Another  disabled  the  steering  apparatus,  and  up 
went  the  white  flag.  The  Rebels  did  everything  to 
shake  the  little  Chickasaw  off,  but  it  was  impossible; 
she  held  on  with  a  tenacity  that  secured  success. 

Dr.  E.  H.  Hutchins,  surgeon  of  the  Port 
Royal,  wrote :  — 

Where  praise  is  due  it  should  be  given.  The 
service  of  the  Chickasaw,  so  valuable  and  so  indis 
pensable,  did  not  end  here.  That  very  afternoon, 
before  the  heat  of  battle  had  fairly  subsided,  she, 
under  a  heavy  fire,  and  being  struck  three  times, 
towed  out  a  large  barge  from  under  the  guns  of  Fort 
Powell.  The  following  day  she  kept  up  a  brisk  fire 
upon  Fort  Gaines.  Her  light  draft  of  water  made 
her  invaluable,  while  her  invulnerable  sides  and  her 
excellent  steering,  and  her  powerful  armament 
seemed  to  me  to  render  her  decidedly  the  most 
effective  vessel  in  that  memorable  fight.  .  .  . 

A  remark  of  Commander  Johnston  —  a  Rebel  on 
board  the  Tennessee  at  the  time  of  her  capture  — 
occurs  to  me.  In  speaking  of  the  Chickasaw  in  the 

fight  he  said:  "If  it  had  not  been  for  that  d d 

black  hulk  hanging  on  our  stern  we  would  have  got 
along  well  enough;  she  did  us  more  damage  than  all 
the  rest  of  the  Federal  fleet." 

Of  the  greatest  weight  are  the  words  of 
Admiral  Farragut.  In  his  report  of  the  battle 
of  Mobile  Bay,  he  noted:  - 


THE   BATTLE  OF  MOBILE   BAY      205 

I  cannot  give  too  much  praise  to  Lieutenant- 
Commander  Perkins,  who,  though  he  had  orders 
from  the  department  to  return  North,  volunteered  to 
take  command  of  the  Chickasaw,  and  did  his  duty 
nobly.1 

Six  years  later  the  Admiral  expressed  appreci 
ation  that  was  still  more  enthusiastic.  Less 
than  a  month  before  his  death,  when  talking 
about  the  Gulf  Squadron,  according  to  the  state 
ment  of  a  friend,  Mr.  McRitchie,  he  said:  — 

Perkins  was  young  and  handsome,  and  ...  no 
braver  man  ever  trod  a  ship's  deck;  ...  his  work  in 
the  Chickasaw  did  more  to  capture  the  Tennessee  than 
all  the  guns  of  the  fleet  put  together. 

1  Naval  War  Records,  vol.  xxi,  p.  420. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

LATER    SERVICE 

TTV3LLOWING  the  capture  of  the  forts  in 
JL  Mobile  Bay  there  was  no  leave  of  absence 
for  Lieutenant-Commander  Perkins,  and  none 
was  desired.  Till  the  end  of  the  war,  and  later, 
he  continued  captain  of  the  Chickasaw.  And  it 
was  not  merely  in  battle  that  he  brought  credit 
to  his  command.  In  November  he  wrote  to  the 
home  that  so  treasured  the  words  of  praise:  — 

My  vessel  is  the  "crack"  vessel  of  the  ironclads, 
and  the  fleet  captain  and  Admiral  are  very  much 
pleased  with  the  discipline  and  order  she  is  in,  and 
speak  of  her  as  an  example. 

And  again:  — 

The  Admiral  talks  to  me  a  great  deal  about  his 
plans,  which  is  of  course  very  flattering  to  me. 

The  following  letters  tell  of  life  on  the  Chicka 
when  summer  was  past:  — 


September  20,  1864.  —  It  is  raining  and  I  have 
nothing  to  do.  I  am  still  alive,  and  looking  at  Mobile 
where  just  at  this  time  great  excitement  prevails. 


LATER  SERVICE  207 

Sherman  is  in  Montgomery  and  the  Rebels  expect 
him  in  Mobile.  I  for  one  hope  he  will  come,  for  I 
must  confess  my  weakness  in  wanting  to  go  there. 
The  deserters  say  that  Forest's  men  behaved  so 
badly  that  they  are  obliged  to  keep  them  out  of  the 
city.  .  .  .  Last  night  I  sent  my  boat  in  to  set  fire  to 
one  of  the  vessels,  but  was  unsuccessful.  Yesterday 
afternoon  they  fired  a  few  shots  at  us  from  their  forts, 
but  none  hit.  If  they  fire  any  more,  we  are  going  in 
to  shell  the  city.  .  .  .  The  Admiral  is  coming  up 
in  a  day  or  two.  My  ship  is  in  fine  condition  for  a 
fight  and  I  hope  will  make  a  good  one  when  the  time 
comes.  I  long  for  the  work  to  begin  to  break  the 
monotony. 

October  20.  —  The  last  few  days  ...  it  has  been 
blowing  a  gale  of  wind  and  the  sea  breaks  over  this 
vessel  and  plays  the  deuce  with  my  tent  and  arrange 
ments.  Besides  the  weather  is  very  cold. 

December  4.  —  I  am  living  on  deck  in  a  tent,  and 
these  cold  northers  are  not  so  very  pleasant.  ...  I 
went  hunting  yesterday.  Killed  a  cow,  a  calf,  and 
two  ducks. 

The  accompanying  letters  written  to  Perkins 
by  certain  of  the  officers  in  Mobile  Bay,  show  his 
intimate  and  happy  relations  with  them.  The 
first  is  by  Lieutenant-Commander  (later  Rear- 
Admiral)  James  E.  Jouett,  commanding  the 
Metacomet. 

Metacomet,  OFF  MOBILE  CITY, 
October  17,  1864. 

MY  DEAR  LITTLE  PuRK,  

Shot  in  the  neck,  hey!  You're  a  little  cheat.  Some 


208       GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

one  else  has  stolen  your  heart,  that's  where  you  were 
shot.  Well,  so  be  it  —  it's  all  as  we  feel,  I  think. 

I  have  the  sloop  astern  (I'd  rather  have  you)  and 
will  send  her  down  in  the  morning  —  she  did  not 

arrive  until  six  P.M.  These  d d  Johnnies  tried  the 

range  of  a  rifle  gun  on  me  from  that  Spanish  River 
Battery  this  evening.  They  had  a  good  wind  and  I 
must  say,  the  shell  came  a  leetle  close,  say  twenty 

yards.  I  am  a  little  south  of  your  d d  "wreck,"  as 

Gates  called  it.  One  would  imagine  it  such  from  the 
barrels  and  spars  flopping  about  it,  and  though  I  am 
more  than  half  a  mile  from  where  Low  lay,  still  they 
can  just  reach  me.  It's  a  good  gun  and  does  n't  have 
a  remarkably  pleasant  voice.  However,  you  can  bet 
when  Jeemes  gets  a  S.S.E.  wind  he'll  disturb  the 
quiet  slumbers  of  some  small  children  and  nervous 
men  and  women.  I'll  send  the  Metacomet  into  that 
city  sure.  Then  we'll  see  how  they  like  it.  ... 

Come  up  and  enliven  the  scene  by  adding  your 
ugly  mug  to  this  intensely  stupid  department.  I 
have  some  chickens  and  gophers  for  you,  so  do  come 
up.  Bring  or  send  up  some  corn  meal  —  some  corn 
for  the  chickens  —  and  if  your  man  Friday  can  find 
them  please  get  some  pumpkins.  .  .  .  Fetch  along  the 
bacon.  Good-night,  little  devil.  Love  to  Terry, 
Jenkins,  Watson,  and  Co.  Kick  old  Kirkland  and 
send  him  up.  .  .  .  Write  me  the  news  and  send  all 
the  papers  to 

Your  loving  old  landlord, 

JIM  JOUETT. 

The  second  letter  is  by  Captain  Jenkins,  who, 
after  the  departure  of  Admiral  Farragut  in 


LATER  SERVICE  209 

November,  commanded  the  blockading  squad 
ron  off  Mobile.  The  fondness  of  Captain  Jenkins 
for  Perkins,  has  been  already  mentioned. 

U.  S.  STEAMSHIP  Richmond, 
IST  DIVISION  W.G.  SQUADRON, 
MOBILE  BAY, 
December  24,  1864. 

MY  ESTEEMED  YOUNG  FRIEND,  — 

To-morrow  will  be  Christmas.  I  hope  it  may  be  a 
reasonably  joyous  day  to  you  and  my  other  gallant 
young  friends  of  the  "Upper  Fleet";  and  that  you  all 
may  have  not  only  a  very  happy  New  Year,  but 
many  returns  and  under  more  pleasant  auspices  than 
the  present. 

I  send  you  a  bundle  of  the  latest  newspapers,  tell 
ing  you  of  Sherman,  etc.  And  Gherardi,  another  one 
of  the  gallant  spirits  claimed  among  my  most  excel 
lent  friends,  sends  you  and  our  colleague  in  fellowship 
(Captain  Kirkland)  each  a  turkey. 

As  these  turkeys  are  indebted  to  me  for  passports, 
which  I  readily  granted  seeing  they  did  not  desire  to 
go  beyond  the  lines  under  flag  of  truce,  my  injunction 
is  that  both  be  not  brought  to  the  knife  on  the  same 
day.  Although  these  bipeds  were  bred  on  Rebel  soil, 
I  fancy  if  they  receive  proper  attention  especially  in 
basting  if  roasted,  as  we  sometimes  do  our  friends,  or 
well  smothered  up  in  bivalves  in  default  of  truffles  or 
mushrooms  if  boiled,  as  managing  mammas  do  the 
desirable  beaux  of  their  daughters,  they  may  prove 
both  savory  and  digestible,  and  they  remind  you  too 
that  Rebel  soil  has  produced  and  can  still  produce 
other  bipeds  not  to  be  wholly  ignored,  although 


210      GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

neither  our  friend  of  the  Winnelago  is  quite  prepared, 
nor  am  I,  for  the  knife  and  spit  or  to  be  put  under  the 
dish  cover. 

If  you  and  your  consort  can  manage  to  get  down 
here  by  New  Year's  day  I  shall  try  to  inveigle  you 
both  into  trying  the  Rebel  turkey  Gherardi  sent  to 
me  at  the  same  time.  I  will  try  to  prove  to  ourselves 
that  Cotton  is  not  the  only  product  worthy  of  our 
consideration  during  war. 

The  Milwaukee  will  probably  leave  New  Orleans 
to-day  under  convoy  of  our  friend  Jouett,  who,  by  the 
way,  will  be  I  fear  too  late  to  catch  the  Frances, 
Coquette,  Will  of  the  Wisp,  and  others  at  Havana  a 
few  days  since  waiting  for  the  waning  moon.  I  shall 
detain  him  here  not  a  moment.  He  is  too  lucky  in  the 
catching  line  to  be  baulked  in  his  plans.  Just  to 
think  of  the  Frances  now  in  Galveston  with  1,200 
bales  of  cotton  on  board !  If  you  are  good  at  ciphering 
just  figure  out  all  our  shares  and  tell  Jouett  when  he 
comes.  If  Jouett  catches  many  prizes  I  shall  be 
attacked  with  that  terrible  disease,  the  Cotton  Fever. 
It  is  a  terrible  disease  no  doubt  and  I  shall  fight  hard 
against  it,  but  I  am  at  fault  for  remedies.  .  .  . 

With  kindest  regards  to  all  our  friends  this  side  the 
Rebel  lines, 

I  am  very  truly  your  friend, 

THORNTON  A.  JENKINS. 

CAPTAIN  GEO.  H.  PERKINS, 
Commanding  Chickasazo. 

The  third  letter  is  by  Lieutenant-Commander 
W.  A.  Kirkland,  who  had  been  given  the  Winne- 
bago.  It  describes  in  a  humorous  vein  the  duties 


LATER  SERVICE  211 

that  devolved  upon  the  Union  officers  on  the 
conclusion  of  the  war. 

Winnebago,  MR.  BIGBEE'S  CREEK, 
April  17,  1865. 

MY   DEAR    LITTLE    PERK,  - 

Have  administered  the  oath  to  seven  planters  this 
morning,  who  thereby  saved  their  poultry  and  truck. 
Am  having  a  good  time  and  go  at  daybreak  to  eat 
strawberries  and  cream  at  their  houses.  Shall  buy  a 
horse  and  send  him  to  you  to  look  out  for  till  my 
return.  .  .  .  Tell  Jones  his  'n  is  received;  he  need  not 
buy  anything  for  me.  There's  lots  here  and  they  give 
it  to  me  because  I  am  polite  and  don't  steal.  .  .  .  Two 
lovely  women  within  easy  rowing  distance  and  two 
more  that  I  call  on  at  daybreak.  .  .  . 

April  1 8,  2  P.M.  —  Have  just  returned  from  the 
house  of  Mrs.  Van  Dorn,  widow  of  the  late  Rebel 
general.  .  .  .  Administered  the  oath  to  three  old 
ladies,  and  had  a  good  time  with  the  young  ones. 
There  are  lots  of  pretty  girls  around  here  and  I  am 
getting  along  swimmingly  for  a  single  man.  .  .  . 
Yours  in  a  thieving  way, 

W.  A.  K. 

On  July  10,  1865,  the  commander  of  the 
Chick  as  aw  was  detached  and  after  the  long 
service  in  the  Gulf,  almost  of  the  same  duration 
as  the  war,  Perkins  had  the  promised  rest  at 
home.  It  is  easy  to  imagine  the  excitement  and 
joy  on  his  arrival.  Miss  Perkins  speaks  of  the 


212      GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

enthusiasm  with  which  he  was  greeted  by  all  who 
knew  him,  adding:  — 

Complimentary  letters  poured  in  on  him  and  on 
his  family.  He  was  at  that  time  the  embodiment  of 
an  attractive  naval  officer,  and  might  have  figured  in 
the  pages  of  romance. 

The  following  winter  he  was  given  command 
of  all  the  ironclads  stationed  at  New  Orleans, 
and  in  May,  1866,  he  was  ordered  to  New  York 
for  duty  as  first  lieutenant  of  the  Lackawanna, 
which  was  soon  to  leave  for  a  three  years'  cruise 
in  the  Pacific. 

Admiral  Jenkins  writes,  as  he  was  about  to 
sail,  wishing  him  "A  pleasant  and  profitable 
cruise,  and  the  thirty  numbers  to  which  you  are 
entitled  for  your  services."  Advancement  by 
thirty  numbers  in  rank  had  been  given  in  many 
cases  for  conspicuous  bravery.  Perkins's  fellow- 
officers  felt  sure  he  would  get  at  least  this  recog 
nition.  Some  of  his  friends,  when  he  was  in  New 
Hampshire  on  leave,  had  urged  that  he  apply  to 
the  Congressmen  of  his  State  and  secure  their 
influence  in  gaining  promotion.  But  this  was 
repugnant  to  his  feelings;  he  detested  political 
intrigue  or  what  had  the  least  resemblance  to  it. 
Conscious  of  his  deserts  and  believing  that  they 


LATER  SERVICE  213 

would  be  recognized,  he  did  nothing.  Unfortu 
nately,  the  Government  also  did  nothing.  For 
this  and  many  similar  cases  Farragut  has  been 
blamed.  That  distinguished  sailor  was  apathetic 
in  the  urging  of  promotion  for  the  officers  who 
had  contributed  so  largely  to  his  own  success. 
But  whatever  may  have  been  felt,  how  worthy  it 
was  of  Perkins,  instead  of  becoming  a  party  to  a 
squabble  after  honors,  to  turn  with  cheerfulness 
and  alacrity  to  the  next  duty. 

The  Lackawanna  put  to  sea  on  July  8,  1866, 
and  after  touching  at  Rio  Janeiro  and  Monte 
video,  passed  through  the  Straits  of  Magellan, 
arriving  at  Valparaiso,  December  17.  Then  she 
went  to  Honolulu,  reaching  it  early  in  the  follow 
ing  February;  this  was  to  be  her  station  for  the 
next  two  years. 

The  death  of  Perkins's  brothers,  Roger  and 
Frank,  at  this  time  brought  him  sadness,  and 
there  follows  a  letter  to  his  mother  of  great 
tenderness. 

During  the  cruise  in  the  Pacific,  the  ship 
visited  Kauai,  Maui,  and  others  of  the  Hawaiian 
Islands,  and  Perkins  climbed  the  great  crater  of 
Kilauea.  While  at  Honolulu  he  took  especial 
delight  in  going  to  the  cattle  ranches  and  tasting 


214      GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

the  excitement  of  driving  the  wild  cattle  down 
from  the  mountains. 

On  April  25,  the  Lackawanna  left  for  the 
French  Frigate  Shoals,  where  two  weeks  before 
the  whaling  bark  Daniel  Wood  of  New  Bedford 
had  been  wrecked.  Her  captain  and  a  part  of  the 
crew  had  succeeded  in  reaching  Honolulu  after 
a  passage  of  450  miles  in  an  open  boat.  The 
Lackawanna  sailed  to  rescue  the  others. 

Of  more  than  passing  interest  was  the  trip  to 
the  Midway  Islands  (Brooks  Islands),  a  small 
group  lying  far  to  the  west  of  the  Hawaiian 
Islands  and  midway  between  America  and 
Asia.  His  letters  and  the  captain's  report  tell 
the  story. 

August  3,  1867.  —  We  are  now  on  our  way  to  sur 
vey  an  island  discovered  by  Captain  Brooks  a  few 
years  ago,  which  the  Pacific  Mail  Steamship  Com 
pany  want  for  a  coal  depot,  and  we  shall  probably 
return  to  Honolulu  in  about  six  weeks.  Ever  since 
we  left  there  the  sea  has  been  very  rough,  and  we 
have  been  tumbling  about  in  every  imaginable  way, 
and  now  the  old  ship  is  rolling  so  I  can  hardly  write. 

AUGUST  14.  Breakers  have  been  reported  from 
the  masthead,  and  I  hope  it  is  the  island  we  are  look 
ing  for.  .  .  . 

Yes,  it  proved  to  be  the  land  we  are  seeking,  and 
now  we  are  lying  at  anchor  off  Brooks's  Island, 


LATER  SERVICE  215 

named  after  the  captain  who  discovered  it  a  few 
years  ago;  and  probably  never  before  or  since  has 
there  been  anyone  there.  It  is  low  and  sandy,  about 
six  miles  long,  and  its  inhabitants  are  only  seagulls 
and  other  sea  birds,  seals  and  turtles.  Never  having 
seen  any  human  beings  before,  they  are  not  in  the 
least  afraid  of  us,  and  we  can  catch  as  many  of  them 
as  we  wish.  I  have  been  fishing  and  caught  a  boat 
load  of  fish  and  eleven  turtles,  each  one  of  the  latter 
weighing  200  pounds  and  over.  We  are  going  to  re 
main  here  and  survey  the  islands,  but  to-day  it  has 
come  on  to  rain,  and  we  are  all  cooped  up  on  board 
the  ship  —  a  dull  prospect  for  me. 

August  16.  —  Pleasant  weather  has  come  again 
and  I  have  been  out  hunting  and  fishing.  Shot  seven 
teen  curlew,  hauled  the  seine,  caught  a  boatload  of 
fish  and  three  large  turtles;  hunted  for  shells,  but 
could  not  find  any. 

We  are  going  to  have  a  rather  formal  ceremony, 
and  take  possession  of  the  islands  for  the  United 
States. 

Captain  William  Reynolds,  commanding  the 
Lackawanna,  in  his  report  describes  this  with 
some  detail :  — 

I  have  the  honor  to  report  that  on  Wednesday, 
the  28th  of  August,  1867,  in  compliance  with  the 
orders  of  the  Hon.  Secretary  of  the  Navy  of  May  28, 
I  took  formal  possession  of  Brooks's  Island  and  reefs 
for  the  United  States.  Having  previously  erected  a 
suitable  flagstaff,  I  landed  on  that  day,  accompanied 
by  all  the  officers  who  could  be  spared  from  the 
ship,  with  six  boats  armed  and  equipped,  and  under  a 


216      GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

salute  of  twenty-one  guns,  and  with  three  cheers, 
hoisted  the  national  ensign,  and  called  on  all  hands 
to  witness  the  act  of  taking  possession  in  the  name  of 
the  United  States. 

The  ceremony  of  taking  possession  over,  the  how 
itzers  and  small-arm  men  and  marines  were  exer 
cised  at  target  firing.  Having  hauled  the  seine  and 
procured  an  abundant  supply  of  fish,  the  men  cooked 
their  dinner  on  shore,  and  the  rest  of  the  day  was 
spent  pleasantly,  picnic  fashion,  upon  the  island. 
It  is  exceedingly  gratifying  to  me  to  have  been  thus 
concerned  in  taking  possession  of  the  first  island  ever 
added  to  the  dominion  of  the  United  States  beyond 
our  own  shores,  and  I  sincerely  hope  that  this  will 
by  no  means  be  the  last  of  our  insular  annexations. 
I  ventured  to  name  the  only  harbor  at  this  island 
after  the  present  Hon.  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  and 
to  call  its  roadstead  after  the  present  Hon.  Secretary 
of  State  (Seward). 

In  1869,  Congress  appropriated  $50,000  for 
deepening  the  entrance  of  this  harbor;  the  work 
was  begun,  but  the  amount  proved  insufficient 
for  completing  the  plan.  One  hundred  miles  to 
the  west  Lieutenant-Commander  Sicard,  of  the 
U.S.S.  Saginaw,  who  had  the  duty  of  inspecting 
and  assisting  in  this  work,  had  the  misfortune 
to  wreck  his  ship  on  a  reef.  The  hazardous 
voyage  of  Lieutenant  Talbot  with  three  men 
in  a  small  boat  sailing  over  1500  miles  to  Kauai, 
Hawaiian  Islands,  to  gain  succor,  and  the 


LATER  SERVICE  217 

drowning  of  all  but  one  of  the  men  just  as 
they  reached  their  destination  and  were  pushing 
through  the  surf  to  make  a  landing,  is  one  of  the 
thrilling  tales  of  the  sea.  Nothing  further  seems 
to  have  been  done  by  our  Government  until 
three  or  four  decades  later,  when  it  sought  to 
insure  safety  to  navigation  by  establishing  there 
a  lighthouse  and  buoys.  After  the  visits  of  the 
Lackawanna  and  the  Saginaiv,  the  islands  were 
deserted  until  the  Pacific  Commerical  Cable 
Company  placed  there  a  station  in  the  San 
Francisco-Manila  Line,  maintaining  about  forty 
men.  This  is  the  intermediate  station  between 
Honolulu  and  Guam. 

After  the  cruise  in  the  Pacific,  Perkins  was 
ordered  to  Boston,  March  18,  1869,  for  ordnance 
duty  at  the  navy  yard.  During  the  two  years 
here,  he  was  but  a  two  or  three  hours'  run  from 
the  paternal  home,  then  at  Concord,  New 
Hampshire,  and  saw  his  people  often.  When  his 
sister  Susan  visited  her  friend,  Miss  Anna  Minot 
Weld,  in  Boston,  he  frequently  called.  She  was 
the  daughter  of  William  Fletcher  Weld,  a  noted 
financier,  who  beginning  with  little  had  become 
one  of  the  largest  shipowners  in  the  United 
States  and  later  was  extensively  interested  in 


2i 8       GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

railroad  construction;  her  mother,  whose  maiden 
name  was  Bryant,  was  a  cousin  of  the  poet.  She 
was  a  favorite  in  Boston  society  because  of  her 
keen  wit,  charm,  and  beauty.  It  was  not  long 
before  Mr.  Perkins  found  himself  deeply  inter 
ested,  and  friendship  developing  into  love,  they 
were  married  in  September,  1870. 

One  of  the  happiest  notes  received  at  this  time 
was  from  Rear-Admiral  Bailey:  — 

Your  invitation  is  in  hand.  As  I  led  you  in  battle 
and  through  the  hostile  mob  at  New  Orleans,  so  I 
will  be  present  and  support  you  in  the  next  most  im 
portant  event  of  your  life. 

Then  began  a  new  life  for  him,  and  after 
nearly  fifteen  years  of  craving  he  realized  what  it 
was  to  have  a  home.  There  was  born  to  them 
some  years  later  one  child,  a  daughter,  Isabel. 
While  his  interest  and  love  for  the  home  of  his 
boyhood  never  lessened,  the  devotion  he  gave  to 
his  wife  and  daughter  was  absolutely  unfailing; 
to  Mrs.  Perkins,  who  was  not  robust,  he  was  the 
most  tender  and  thoughtful  of  husbands,  and 
in  his  care  for  little  Isabel  scarcely  less  untiring. 

In  January,  1871,  Perkins  was  promoted  to 
the  rank  of  commander.  In  the  following  March 
he  was  given  command  of  the  storeship  Relief, 


LATER  SERVICE  219 

with  orders  to  carry  supplies  to  France  to  relieve 
the  famine  and  distress  that  had  resulted  from 
the  disorders  of  the  Communists.  Six  months 
later  he  returned  to  duty  at  the  Boston  Navy 
Yard,  and  soon  afterwards  became  lighthouse 
inspector  of  the  Second  District;  the  latter 
service  allowed  him  still  to  make  Boston  his 
home.  He  was  relieved  from  this  duty  after 
three  years  by  his  old  friend,  Commander 
George  Dewey. 

Then  followed  a  cruise  in  the  Far  East.  He 
was  ordered  in  1877  to  the  Asiatic  Station  to 
take  command  of  the  Ashuelot,  a  paddle-wheel 
steamer  of  786  tons,  carrying  six  guns.  Here  his 
strong  executive  ability  was  again  demon 
strated,  and  the  admiral  (Thomas  H.  Patterson) 
wrote  in  the  highest  praise  of  the  very  superior 
discipline  and  order  of  his  ship,  and  of  the  con 
fidence  which  he  inspired. 

As  this  was  a  time  of  peace  and  friendly  rela 
tions  in  the  Far  East,  among  Perkins's  import 
ant  duties  were  the  visits  of  ceremony  and  the 
dinner  parties  —  all  with  the  end  of  cultivating 
cordial  feelings  with  the  natives  and  Europeans. 
In  promoting  American  interests,  the  Ashuelot 
visited  not  only  the  well-known  ports,  Canton, 


220      GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

Hong-Kong,  and  Kobe,  but  the  less  frequented, 
Hoi-how  and  Pak-hoi  (southwest  of  Canton  and 
but  newly  opened  to  our  commerce),  Bankok, 
Foochow,  Amoy,  etc.  The  duty,  while  for  the 
most  part  not  arduous,  required  for  its  proper 
performance  a  fine  sense  of  form  as  well  as  tact, 
delicacy,  and  good  cheer.  Perkins  enjoyed  the 
novelty,  color,  and  picturesqueness,  as  is  evident 
from  the  long  letters  written  to  the  homes  at 
Boston  and  Concord.  He  was  still  so  young  as 
to  be  interested  in  the  prospect  of  a  hunt,  and 
while  the  Ashuelot  was  undergoing  repairs  at 
Shanghai  he  accepted  an  invitation  to  join  in  a 
trip  on  one  of  the  luxurious  houseboats,  going 
by  the  rivers  and  canals  150  miles  into  the 
interior,  where  the  party  anchored  in  the  vicin 
ity  of  the  large  game  to  be  found  on  the  plains. 
The  best  description  of  his  life  in  the  East  is  to 
be  gained  from  his  letters. 

CANTON,  May  13,  1877. 

Since  I  have  been  here  my  time  has  been  taken  up 
exchanging  visits  with  both  natives  and  foreigners 
and  going  to  all  the  places  of  interest.  Most  of  the 
foreigners  in  China  who  live  at  all  live  very  hand 
somely.  They  keep  up  the  English  customs  so  far  as 
the  climate  will  allow,  dining  at  eight  in  the  even 
ing,  and  the  dinner  parties  and  entertainments  are 


LATER  SERVICE  221 

very  rich  and  elaborate.  The  other  day  in  Pak-hoi  I 
went  to  a  Chinese  dinner  at  a  Chinese  gentleman's 
house,  and  there  were  twenty  different  courses,  two 
of  them  being  birds-nest  soup  and  shark's  fins,  which 
are  esteemed  such  delicacies  by  the  Chinese.  We 
had  nothing  but  chopsticks  to  eat  with. 

Canton  is  one  of  the  finest  of  the  Chinese  cities, 
and  there  were  a  great  many  pretty  things  to  buy 
here.  As  one  comes  up  the  river  from  Hong-Kong 
the  scenery  is  beautiful;  it  reminds  one  a  little 
of  some  parts  of  the  Hudson.  In  many  places  the 
hills  are  terraced  and  cultivated  to  their  very  sum 
mits.  The  manner  of  working  in  the  fields  here  has 
not  changed  for  a  thousand  years  or  more.  Many 
agricultural  customs  spoken  of  in  the  Bible  are  in 
full  force  now  among  these  people,  and  one  is 
constantly  reminded  of  Bible  descriptions  and  al 
lusions. 

These  Chinese  are  the  hardest-working  and  most 
industrious  people  I  ever  saw.  They  live  on  a  little 
rice  and  will  work  hard  all  day  for  ten  cents.  There 
are  always  a  great  many  boats  about  my  ship,  pulled 
by  women,  who  live  in  them  with  their  children,  and 
who  usually  have  a  little  baby,  which  they  strap  on 
their  backs  and  carry  in  that  way  when  they  have  to 
row  or  do  anything  else.  You  hardly  ever  hear  a  Chi 
nese  baby  cry.  They  have  a  funny  custom  about  their 
babies.  A  child  does  not  sit  till  it  is  four  months  old, 
but  on  that  day  the  grandmother  gives  it  a  gayly- 
painted  chair  and  some  molasses  candy;  this  candy 
is  stuck  to  the  bottom  of  the  chair,  and  the  child  is 
then  stuck  to  the  candy.  They  think  that  in  this 
way  the  child  learns  to  sit  quietly  and  will  not  re 
quire  to  be  carried  about  in  the  arms.  It  amuses  me 


222      GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

to  watch  them  from  the  ship,  where  I  can  look  down 
upon  them  and  see  just  how  they  live.  They  are  con 
tinually  going  through  their  forms  of  worship,  keep 
ing  little  sticks  burning  before  their  images,  making 
prayers,  and  setting  papers  on  fire  to  keep  off  evil 
spirits. 

A  few  days  ago  I  visited  the  prisons  here.  They 
keep  the  prisoners  in  pens,  as  you  would  an  animal, 
with  chains  on  them,  until  they  are  led  out  to  be  be 
headed  or  tortured.  There  is  a  Temple  of  Horrors, 
where  they  have  images  representing  the  different 
Chinese  ways  of  punishment,  and  frightfully  cruel 
some  of  them  are. 

To-day  I  have  been  to  see  the  hall  of  the  literary 
examinations,  where  about  10,000  students  have  a 
competitive  examination  every  three  years,  and  as 
they  come  with  their  friends  from  all  over  China,  it 
is  a  time  of  fun  or  feasting,  like  class-day  at  Harvard, 
only  more  so.  The  hall  where  the  candidates  prepare 
for  examination  is  furnished  with  little  stalls,  which 
are  not  so  good  as  those  we  give  our  cattle,  and  the 
candidates  are  shut  in  them  for  three  days.  They 
carry  in  their  own  food,  which  is  to  last  them 
through,  and  they  sleep  on  a  shelf  of  boards;  they 
are  constantly  and  closely  watched,  the  doors  are 
fastened  and  sealed,  and  they  are  entirely  sepa 
rated  from  the  outside  world.  This  is  to  prevent 
their  receiving  any  aid  from  others  in  preparing 
their  essays. 

In  the  children's  schools  of  the  Chinese  the  cus 
toms  are  just  the  reverse  of  ours.  They  all  study  out 
loud,  and  it  sounds  like  a  perfect  babel;  and  when 
they  recite  their  lessons,  they  stand  with  their  backs 
to  the  teacher. 


LATER  SERVICE  223 

TIENTSIN,  November  9,  1877. 

I  returned  from  Peking  two  days  ago,  where  I  have 
had  a  very  interesting  visit.  I  met  our  minister  and 
his  wife,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Seward,  at  Hong-Kong,  and 
I  promised  to  visit  them  when  I  took  the  Ashuelot 
north.  This  port  being  the  nearest  to  Peking,  I 
made  my  arrangements  as  soon  as  I  arrived  here  to 
accept  their  invitation,  and  am  very  glad  I  did  so, 
for  I  have  had  a  delightful  visit,  and  they  have  been 
very  polite  and  kind  to  me. 

The  distance  from  here  to  Peking  is  eighty  miles, 
and  I  went  by  boat.  The  Chinese  have  made  this 
mode  of  traveling  very  luxurious,  but  all  other  ways 
of  getting  about  here  are  uncomfortable  enough. 
They  go  in  rough  carts,  or  in  wheelbarrows  drawn  by 
mules,  and  no  provision  is  made  for  travelers  which 
deserves  the  name. 

Peking  must  have  been  a  beautiful  city  once;  but 
the  Government  is  so  bad  now  it  is  fast  going  to  de 
cay.  There  was  a  great  deal  to  see  there,  —  palaces, 
temples,  pagodas,  all  wonderful,  and  representing  an 
amount  of  skill  and  labor  to  be  found  nowhere  but  in 
China.  Among  the  photographs  which  I  send  you 
there  are  two  of  a  monument  to  Buddha,  which,  in 
its  way,  is  the  most  beautiful  thing  I  ever  saw.  One 
of  the  photographs  represents  a  section  of  it,  and 
that  will  show  you  what  the  carving  is;  it  is  equally 
fine  all  over  its  surface,  and  it  is  an  immense  monu 
ment.  They  told  me  all  the  life  of  Buddha  was  por 
trayed  on  it.  It  is  of  white  marble,  and  stands  on  a 
terrace  with  a  pagoda  at  each  of  the  four  corners. 

The  Temple  of  Heaven  seemed  to  me  the  finest  of 
the  temples,  and  that  is  another  wonder  of  elaborate 
carving  in  marble.  The  upper  part  and  the  dome 


224      GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

are  of  blue  tiles.  It  stands  on  a  large  platform  of 
white  marble  at  the  top  of  three  terraces,  each  one 
surrounded  with  white  marble  balustrades,  and  with 
marble  steps,  and  everything  very  handsome.  You 
will  see  in  the  photograph  what  an  immense  furnace 
is  attached  to  this  temple  where  a  whole  ox  can  be 
burned  for  sacrifice.  In  one  of  the  temples  is  an  idol 
of  Buddha  sixty  feet  high  —  the  largest  idol  in  the 
world.  All  the  buildings,  palaces,  temples,  etc., 
where  the  imperial  family  live  or  worship,  are  cov 
ered  with  yellow  tiles,  which  is  the  imperial  color. 

During  my  whole  stay  in  Peking  I  was  going  from 
one  wonderful  thing  to  another,  each  one  worthy  of 
long  study  by  the  curious  or  learned  in  such  matters. 
I  was  shown  an  immense  bell  that  weighed  100,000 
pounds;  it  was  covered  outside  and  in  with  Chinese 
characters,  and  I  do  not  see  how  anything  so  huge 
could  have  been  cast,  and  cast  at  one  time,  and  that 
over  200  years  ago. 

To  show  how  these  Chinese  lavish  time  and  labor, 
you  will  see,  in  the  photographs  I  send  you  of  the 
astronomical  apparatus  belonging  to  the  observatory, 
how  the  standards  and  every  part  are  wrought  into 
dragons'  heads  and  figures,  and  carved  and  orna 
mented.  These  instruments  are  kept  on  a  platform 
on  the  city  wall,  and  stand  exposed  to  the  open  air. 
They  were  built  about  200  years  ago  under  the  su 
perintendence  of  the  Jesuit  missionaries,  who  about 
that  time  were  in  favor  with  the  Chinese  Emperor, 
and  accomplished  a  great  deal  by  their  influence. 

We  went  out  on  horseback  from  Peking  on  an  ex 
cursion  to  the  great  wall.  So  much  has  been  written 
about  this  that  I  will  not  undertake  to  describe  it, 
just  leaving  it  to  the  photographs  to  help  you  out. 


LATER  SERVICE  225 

They  will  give  you  some  idea  how  impressive  it  is  to 
come  upon  such  a  work  as  this  in  the  midst  of  the 
roughness  and  wildness  of  Northern  China.  We  went 
to  the  wall  and  out  through  the  Nankow  Pass.  In 
the  pictures  I  send  you,  you  will  see  how  the  wall  runs 
down  here  to  a  savage  place  between  two  mountains, 
where  there  are  rough  rocks  and  boulders  heaped  all 
about,  as  if  they  had  rolled  down  in  an  avalanche.  In 
a  place  like  this,  think  what  a  surprise  it  is  to  find 
one's  self  close  to  an  arched  opening,  and  on  looking 
up  to  see  a  magnificently  built  archway  covered  with 
elaborate  carving,  and  crowned  with  two  dragons 
supporting  an  image  of  Buddha. 

Through  this  Pass  goes  all  the  immense  trade  with 
outlying  China,  with  Siberia,  and  with  Russia,  and 
all  the  overland  trade  of  Northern  China,  and  this 
is  all  carried  on  beasts  of  burden.  .  .  . 

By  the  way,  I  find  camels  much  used  in  Northern 
China,  though  it  was  a  surprise  to  me  to  come  upon 
them  as  I  approached  Peking.  I  went  through  the 
pass  and  had  a  glimpse  of  the  great  Mongolian  Plain 
beyond,  where  the  Tartars  herd  their  flocks,  and  live 
in  tents  and  wander  about,  just  as  shepherd  tribes 
have  done  since  the  days  of  Abraham.  I  was  sorry 
my  time  was  so  limited  that  I  could  not  follow  on  the 
track  of  Mr.  Williams  —  the  author  of  one  of  the 
best  books  on  China  —  who  traveled  all  over  this 
plain. 

We  found  a  curious  arrangement  for  a  bed  in 
Northern  China.  They  build  a  brick  platform  about 
two  feet  high,  sometimes  large  enough  to  accommo 
date  several  persons.  This  is  built  over  a  funnel 
which  passes  back  and  forth  until  it  ends  in  a  sort  of 
chimney.  The  fire  is  put  at  one  end  of  the  funnel, 


226      GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

where  it  comes  out  beneath  the  brick,  and  the  fire, 
smoke  and  heated  air  pass  back  and  forth,  and  out  at 
the  chimney,  until  the  bricks  of  this  queer  bedstead 
—  which  is  called  a  kong  —  become  heated,  and  then 
the  fire  is  put  out,  and  the  servant  spreads  the  bed 
ding  —  which  in  China  a  traveler  always  carries  with 
him  —  on  the  warm  surface. 

Returning  from  the  great  wall  we  made  a  detour 
to  see  the  tombs  of  the  emperors,  or  "  Ming  Tombs," 
as  they  are  called;  it  means  the  same  thing.  Ming  is 
Chinese  for  emperor.  I  am  very  glad  I  have  seen 
them.  They  were  the  most  singular,  the  most  novel, 
and  the  most  imposing  of  anything  I  have  seen  at  all, 
well  worth  making  a  great  effort  to  visit.  They  are 
sixty  miles  north  from  Peking,  and  are  situated  in  a 
long,  sandy  plain,  encircled  by  an  amphitheater  of 
high  mountains.  There  they  have  stood  in  their 
lonely  grandeur  for  more  than  a  thousand  years,  and 
their  state  of  preservation  is  wonderful.  It  is  such 
that  it  gives  you  that  rare  sensation  of  being  sud 
denly  dropped  into  another  world. 

From  the  entrance-gate  to  the  first  tomb  there  is 
an  avenue  of  three  miles.  The  avenue  gateway  con 
sists  of  five  marble  archways,  supported  on  pillars, 
whose  bases  are  carved  with  lions  and  dragons,  and 
whose  tops  support  a  roof  worked  up  with  that 
strange  Chinese  elaboration  which  I  have  no  words 
to  describe.  This  avenue  is  formed  first  by  a  row  of 
white  marble  columns  on  each  side;  then  by  lines  of 
sculptured  animals  of  colossal  size;  and,  lastly,  by 
twelve  gigantic  statues.  The  lines  of  animals  are  the 
strangest  sight,  —  camels,  lions  and  winged  dragons, 
immense  creatures  lying  or  standing  on  the  barren 
plain  as  if  petrified  there.  Their  size  and  immobility 


LATER  SERVICE  227 

are  singularly  affecting.  They  are  all  cut  from  single 
blocks  of  granite.  It  is  wonderful  what  work  the 
Chinese  do  in  this  hard  stone.  They  use  it  a  great 
deal;  and  the  time  and  patience  it  must  require  to 
cut  and  carve  as  they  do  make  one  tired  to  think  of. 

The  great  statues  that  finish  the  avenue  to  the 
inner  gateway  are  said  to  be  those  of  the  emperors 
buried  there.  They  are  supposed  to  be  dressed  like 
ancient  Chinese  warriors.  Their  high  square  head 
gear  is  called  a  helmet,  and  something  like  a  cuirass 
covers  the  upper  part  of  the  figure,  but  otherwise 
their  garments  are  long  and  flowing,  and  the  effect 
to  me  was  not  warlike,  but  solemn  and  dignified. 
They  seemed  to  stand  for  types  of  the  sages  of  old, 
and  embodiments  of  the  faith  and  philosophy  of  this 
ancient  people. 

At  the  end  of  the  avenue  is  another  gateway,  con 
sisting  of  a  single  arch,  embellished  on  the  upper 
corners  with  huge  Chinese  lions.  The  roadway  of 
great  flags,  which  leads  through  it,  and  the  path 
ways  on  each  side  are  in  good  order  and  look  so  fresh 
that  it  is  hard  to  believe  their  date  is  830  A.D.  Enter 
ing  this,  you  perceive  that  the  great  tombs  are  ar 
ranged  in  a  semicircle  around  the  valley,  and  that 
each  tomb  is  a  temple  in  itself.  All  around  them  is  a 
thick  growth  of  evergreen  trees,  which,  though  dark 
and  solemn,  softens  the  effect  of  loneliness  which  the 
great,  bare  plain  and  the  high,  rocky  mountains  give. 
Only  the  trees  seemed  to  give  a  sense  of  companion 
ship  and  take  away  the  sense  of  something  weird,  and 
of  another  world,  which  was  almost  oppressive. 

I  have  spoken  of  their  size.  The  one  that  we 
measured  was  sixty-seven  yards  long  and  twenty- 
seven  yards  wide.  White  and  red  marble,  porphyry, 


228      GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

and  teak  wood,  all  covered  with  sculptures,  are  used 
in  the  construction  of  the  tombs.  They  called  my  at 
tention  to  the  pure  and  severe  style  of  the  architec 
ture  —  different  from  what  is  usual  in  China,  but 
which  gives  an  effect  of  grandeur.  The  evergreens 
give  a  sepulchral  shade,  and  as  we  stood  there  in  one 
of  the  tombs  one  of  their  appointed  guardians  struck 
loudly  on  a  gong.  The  noise  rang  through  the  halls 
with  curious  vibrations,  and  almost  made  the  flesh 
creep.  They  say  that  the  ashes  of  the  emperors  were 
deposited  in  golden  coffins,  and  in  order  to  keep 
their  final  resting  place  a  secret,  and  secure  from  rob 
bers,  the  grave  diggers  were  killed. 

One  of  the  more  extended  cruises  taken  by 
the  Ashuelot  while  at  this  station  is  outlined 
in  Admiral  Patterson's  order  dated  October  2y 
1878:- 

When  the  vessel  under  your  command  is  in  all 
respects  ready  for  sea,  proceed  with  her  on  a  cruise 
to  the  southward  as  far  as  Bangkok,  visiting,  on  the 
way,  Kobe,  Nagasaki,  Foochow,  Amoy,  Hong- 
Kong,  and  Manila,  and,  if  practicable,  reach  Bang 
kok  about  the  2Oth  of  December  next.  Thence  pro 
ceed  to  Saigon,  Pak-hoi,  Hoi-how,  and  return  to 
Hong-Kong  about  the  middle  of  February  next. 
Regulate  your  stay  at  each  place  as  American  in 
terests  may  demand. 

When  at  Foochow  inform  yourself  fully  in  regard 
to  the  recent  disturbance  there,  and  if  there  should 
be  any  reasonable  apprehension  of  our  citizens,  or 
their  property,  inform  me  by  telegraph  and  wait 
reply. 

Do  all  in  your  power  to  promote  American  interests 


LATER  SERVICE  229 

at  the  ports  visited  by  you,  and  keep  me  informed  of 
your  movements  and  anything  of  importance. 

The  letters  written  on  his  visiting  the  Philip 
pines  and  Siam  contain  vivid  descriptions. 

AT  SEA,  December  2,  1878. 

Yesterday  I  left  Manila,  where  I  have  been  since 
the  6th  of  last  month.  .  .  .  Our  first  days  there  were 
spent  in  firing  salutes,  and  exchanging  visits,  and 
going  through  all  the  forms  which  are  customary 
when  a  government  vessel  comes  into  a  foreign  port. 
Admiral  Patterson  sent  me  here  to  settle  a  stabbing 
affray  on  board  the  American  barque  Masonic,  and 
that  took  up  my  attention  at  first.  In  the  even 
ings  I  went  to  the  opera,  and  visited  the  sights  of 
the  city.  On  account  of  earthquakes,  all  the  build 
ings  are  but  one  story  high.  The  customs,  fashions, 
etc.,  are  Spanish.  Every  one  was  polite  and  I  found 
it  very  pleasant;  but,  as  you  might  expect,  after  a 
little  while  I  grew  restless.  I  heard  that  there  was 
some  beautiful  scenery  in  the  interior,  and  I  resolved 
to  go  on  an  investigating  trip  and  see  it.  Our  vice- 
consul,  Mr.  Yongs,  and  another  gentleman  went  with 
me,  and  we  took  servants,  guides,  etc. 

From  Manila  we  went  in  a  boat  up  a  short  river, 
which  had  its  rise  in  a  large  lake,  about  twenty-five 
miles  long,  and  which  we  crossed  in  a  steamer.  I 
think  I  never  saw  such  quantities  of  two  things  as 
were  on  that  lake  —  namely,  ducks  and  mosquitoes. 

From  the  lake  we  continued  our  journey  in  two- 
horse  vehicles,  like  the  volantes  of  Havana,  and  in 
these  we  went  from  village  to  village,  on  our  way  to 
the  mountains.  We  were  very  well  treated.  The 
Spanish  authorities  at  Manila  provided  us  with 


230      GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

papers  which  commanded  the  chief  men  of  the  vil 
lages  through  which  we  passed  to  furnish  us  with 
whatever  we  required.  The  villages  were  clusters  of 
thatched  huts  around  a  church,  and  the  religion 
seemed  to  be  a  curious  mixture  of  Roman  Catholic 
Christianity  and  pagan  superstition,  as  I  concluded 
from  the  style  of  the  pictures  with  which  these 
churches  were  adorned.  These  were  chiefly  repre 
sentations  of  hell  and  its  torments.  Devils,  with  the 
traditional  tails  and  horns,  and  armed  with  pitch 
forks,  were  turning  over  sinners  in  lakes  of  burning 
brimstone.  .  .  . 

We  found  the  natives  very  musical;  they  sang  and 
played  on  a  variety  of  instruments,  and  they  were 
rather  handsome.  The  women  had,  without  excep 
tion,  the  longest  and  most  luxuriant  hair  I  ever  saw 
in  all  my  travels.  You  know  it  is  a  rare  thing  among 
us  for  a  woman  to  have  hair  that  sweeps  the  ground, 
but  here  the  exception  is  the  other  way;  nearly 
every  woman  I  saw  had  hair  between  five  and  six  feet 
in  length. 

I  was  told  that  back  among  the  mountains  there 
existed  tribes  whom  the  Spaniards  have  never  been 
able  to  conquer,  and  no  one  dares  to  venture  among 
them,  not  even  the  priests.  Our  road  was  con 
stantly  ascending,  and  as  we  advanced  towards  the 
interior  the  scenery  became  beautiful.  Peaks  of 
mountains  rose  all  about  us;  plains  and  valleys 
stretched  out,  covered  with  tropical  vegetation; 
picturesque  villages,  clustering  around  their  churches, 
were  visible  here  and  there;  and  in  the  distance  were 
glimpses  of  the  sea,  either  sparkling  and  bright  in  the 
sun,  or  "deeply,  darkly,  beautifully  blue." 

I  was  told  of  a  wonderful  ravine  among  the  moun- 


LATER  SERVICE  231 

tains  that  was  worth  seeing  and  I  decided  to  visit  it, 
especially  as  it  was  a  favorable  time;  the  river,  by 
which  it  had  to  be  approached,  was  then  high,  and  its 
fifteen  cascades,  which  usually  had  to  be  climbed 
past,  dragging  the  canoe,  were  reduced  to  four.  I 
took  three  natives  with  me,  and  we  ascended  success 
fully.  I  have  called  it  a  ravine,  but  a  gorge  would  be 
a  better  term,  for  it  is  worn  directly  through  the 
mountain  by  a  large  river,  and  the  rock  rises  up  on 
each  side,  as  sheer  and  straight  as  if  cut  by  machin 
ery. 

After  I  had  ascended  a  certain  distance,  I  stopped 
for  a  time  to  examine  all  the  wild  magnificence  about 
me.  The  rocky  wall  on  each  side  was  so  high  that 
when  I  looked  up  I  could  see  the  stars  shining  in  that 
bright  noonday,  as  if  it  were  night.  Huge  birds  came 
flapping  up  the  gorge  far  above  my  head;  and  yet 
they  were  far  below  the  top  of  the  mountain  of  rock. 
I  do  not  know  how  many  feet  it  rose,  but  I  never  saw 
any  precipice  where  the  impression  of  height  was  so 
effectually  given  —  it  seemed  immense. 

Beneath  us  was  the  deep,  broad  stream,  looking 
very  dark  in  such  a  twilight  as  such  a  shadow  made, 
and  I  could  not  help  feeling  awestruck.  But  the 
opening  of  the  gorge  framed  as  smiling  and  cheerful  a 
landscape  as  could  possibly  be  devised,  to  contrast 
with  the  inner  gloom.  It  was  a  wide,  varied  and 
splendid  view  of  the  country  beyond,  sloping  to  the 
distant  sea,  and  all  of  it  as  aglow  with  light  and  color 
as  sea  and  land  could  be,  beneath  a  tropic  sun. 

Descending  the  river  on  our  way  out,  I  had  a  char 
acteristic  adventure,  which  will  make  me  satisfied 
for  a  time.  We  had  passed  two  of  the  rapids  in 
safety,  but  as  we  approached  the  third,  the  canoe 


232      GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

struck  on  a  rock,  or  something  in  the  current,  bow 
on,  and  swinging  round,  half  filled  with  water.  The 
natives  in  the  end  of  the  canoe  nearest  the  rock 
sprang  out  and  clung  to  the  vines  which  hung  over 
its  sides,  but  the  other  man  and  I  went  over  the  fall 
in  the  half-swamped  canoe,  and  were  wholly  at  the 
mercy  of  the  stream,  with  an  unusually  good  pros 
pect  of  getting  a  good  deal  more  of  it. 

The  fall  once  passed  through,  the  current  drove 
us  towards  the  shore,  if  that  is  what  you  would  call  a 
precipice  of  rock,  running  straight  down  far  below 
the  surface  of  the  water.  I  succeeded  in  grasping  the 
vines,  and  pulling  the  canoe  after  me  by  my  feet. 
The  water  was  quiet  close  by  the  rock,  and  the  other 
two  men,  crawling  down  to  us,  hung  on  with  me,  and 
bailed  out  the  boat  till  it  was  safely  afloat,  and  then 
we  went  down  the  rest  of  the  way  without  accident. 

JANUARY  4,  1879. 

Last  Wednesday  we  sighted  Palo  Obi  —  a  small 
island  near  the  coast  —  and  passing  between  that 
and  Cambodia  Point,  entered  the  Gulf  of  Siam, 
which  we  were  two  days  ascending.  This  morning 
the  pilot  came  aboard  at  six,  and  we  started  ahead 
for  Bangkok,  which  we  reached  at  noon.  We  fired  a 
salute,  and  ran  up  the  Siamese  flag  at  the  fore,  and 
soon  after  anchoring  the  consul  came  off  to  visit  us. 

January  12,  1879. 

I  am  having  a  very  pleasant  visit  in  this  strange 
part  of  the  world,  and  if  I  were  younger  and  could 
shake  off  my  homesickness  I  should  be  greatly  enter 
tained.  The  day  after  I  arrived  in  Bangkok,  the 
American  consul  —  Mr.  Sickles  —  took  me,  with 


LATER  SERVICE  233 

some  of  my  officers,  to  call  on  the  minister  of  state. 
He  was  very  polite,  and  after  our  visit  we  received 
an  invitation  to  be  present  at  a  "Sokan  Festival," 
as  it  is  called,  which  was  held  in  honor  of  the  hair- 
cutting  of  the  royal  princess. 

It  seems  the  hair  of  Siamese  children  is  not  cut  till 
a  certain  age,  but  is  worn  in  a  knot  at  the  top  of  the 
head,  where  it  is  fastened  with  gay  pins  and  often 
decorated  with  flowers.  When  they  are  old  enough, 
this  knot  of  hair  is  cut  off,  and  there  is  always  some 
ceremony  about  it,  even  among  the  poorest.  But 
this  Sokan  Festival  was  in  honor  of  the  princess  of 
the  highest  rank  in  the  kingdom,  and  the  ceremonies 
were  as  splendid  and  elaborate  as  it  was  possible  to 
make  them.  They  last  for  six  days,  and  are  held  in  a 
square  adjoining  the  royal  palace.  Around  this 
square  are  halls  and  seats  for  spectators,  according 
to  their  rank,  and  the  square  itself  is  covered  with 
puppet  shows,  booths,  and  refreshment  stands, 
where  the  people  are  regaled  at  the  expense  of  the 
government.  But  what  was  really  splendid,  and 
perfectly  dazzling  to  look  at,  was  what  was  called  the 
"Trailaht,"  which  was  seemingly  a  mountain  of 
gold,  on  the  top  of  which  was  a  gilt  temple,  where 
the  final  ceremonies  of  this  Royal  Sokan  Festival 
took  place.  On  this  mountain  and  about  the  temple 
were  artificial  trees,  which  were  full  of  automatic 
birds,  monkeys,  snakes,  etc.,  and  there  were  pools  of 
water  full  of  artificial  fish  and  there  were  images  of 
people  moved  by  machinery  and  on  the  steps  of  the 
temple  stood  Lukuan  girls  with  huge  wings  attached 
to  their  garments,  which  had  some  machinery  by 
which  they  waved  them  and  flapped  them  about. 
All  the  attendants  and  every  one  in  the  temple  had 


234      GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

these  wings,  and  I  was  given  to  understand  that 
within  the  precincts  of  the  temple  everything  was 
supposed  to  represent  heaven. 

The  city  is  crowded  with  people  from  every  part 
of  the  kingdom,  who  have  come  to  do  honor  to  the 
occasion.  Every  afternoon,,  while  the  festival  lasts, 
there  is  a  procession  around  the  square,  which  is  one 
of  the  great  features  of  the  performance.  This  pro 
cession  is  barbaric  and  grotesque  to  a  degree,  but  is 
also  very  gorgeous.  The  mines  of  this  country  fur 
nish  the  finest  precious  stones  in  the  world,  and  they 
flash  upon  one  in  great  abundance,  often  in  neck 
laces  and  bracelets  strung  together  on  the  necks  and 
arms  of  naked  children.  One  of  the  titles  of  the 
King  of  Siam  is  "Lord  of  the  Rubies."  Portions  of 
the  procession  I  judged,  had  some  national  signifi 
cance.  It  was  composed  of  men  and  women,  and 
the  costumes  of  every  province  of  the  kingdom  were 
represented;  also  Chinese  and  Japanese.  There  were 
besides  a  large  number  in  masquerade.  Then  there 
was  a  military  display,  and  the  music  consisted  both 
of  native  music  and  European  bands.  The  Second 
King  had  a  very  good  band.  Altogether  the  proces 
sion  presented  as  brilliant  an  appearance  as  it  is  pos 
sible  to  imagine. 

The  first  afternoon  that  I  went  with  some  of  my 
officers  to  see  it,  we  were  given  conspicuous  seats  on 
the  line  of  the  procession,  and  I  was  engaged  intently 
watching  the  strange  sight.  Of  course  I  wore  my 
uniform,  but  did  not  expect  any  especial  notice,  hav 
ing  gone  as  a  spectator.  The  King,  in  a  gilded  chair 
of  state,  carried  by  six  bearers,  constitutes  a  part  of 
the  procession,  and  when  he  arrived  opposite  me,  I 
saw  him  give  an  order,  and  everything  came  to  a  full 


LATER  SERVICE  235 

stop.  Then  a  messenger  came  to  me  and  said  that 
the  King  wished  to  see  me.  I  followed  the  messenger 
and  approached  the  chair,  when  the  King  said  to  me 
in  a  full,  clear  voice,  and  in  good  English,  "What  is 
your  mission  to  this  country?"  I  replied  that  my 
mission  was  a  friendly  one,  that  I  had  come  only  to 
express  the  good-will  of  the  United  States  to  his 
kingdom,  etc.;  to  which  he  replied,  "We  are  very 
glad  to  see  you,"  and  signaled  for  the  procession  to 
pass  on.  I  was  never  more  taken  by  surprise  in  my 
life,  and  felt  as  if  I  were  enacting  a  scene  in  the 
"Arabian  Nights." 

Immediately  after  the  King  came  the  gorgeously 
decorated  chair  of  the  princess  royal.  She  wore  a 
gold  crown,  and  was  covered  with  gold  chains  and 
jewelry,  and  was  attended  by  a  group  of  ladies  who 
carried  the  insignia  of  her  rank  on  gold  salvers. 

After  the  procession  had  made  its  circuit,  the 
King  took  his  place  in  a  sort  of  hall,  on  one  side  of 
the  square,  which  was  handsomely  decorated  and 
arranged  for  him,  and  then  he  received  the  princess 
royal,  and  placed  her  by  his  side.  Then  envoys  from 
all  parts  of  the  kingdom,  and  from  neighboring  ones, 
advanced  and  presented  her  with  gifts.  All  the  noble 
families  of  the  kingdom  also  followed  this  example, 
and  this  ceremony  was  gone  through  with  every  day. 

After  the  royal  party  was  seated,  a  sort  of  en 
tertainment  began.  Some  very  pretty  Siamese  wo 
men  —  I  was  told  they  were  ladies  of  rank  —  went 
through  a  slow  dance  before  the  King  and  princess, 
in  which  a  silver  tree  was  passed  from  one  to  the 
other.  They  were  richly  dressed  and  danced  to  na 
tive  music. 

After  this,  some  Lakuan  girls,  dressed  in  bright 


236      GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

colors,  with  wings  fastened  to  their  shoulders,  de 
scended  from  the  gilded  temple  and  danced.  It  was 
all  very  strange  and  diverting  for  the  time,  and  I 
never  saw  anything  so  showy  and  glittering  as  was 
the  whole  scene.  I  witnessed  it  several  times  dur 
ing  the  festival,  but  it  was  much  alike  each  day. 

Before  I  go  on  with  an  account  of  my  visiting 
and  entertainments  I  will  tell  you  something  about 
Bangkok.  It  is  on  the  Meinam  Chow  Phya  River, 
stretched  out  about  five  miles,  and  contains  about 
500,000  people.  These  all  live  on  the  river,  in  float 
ing  houses  built  on  rafts  of  bamboo  poles  and  fast 
ened  to  posts,  except  the  consulates,  Kings'  palaces, 
temples,  and  places  of  that  sort,  which  require  a  firm 
foundation  on  the  land.  All  these  latter  buildings 
are  tiled  with  green  and  yellow,  and  have  an  im 
mense  amount  of  porcelain  used  in  their  construc 
tion,  with  elaborate  figures  of  gods  and  animals 
adorning  them.  One  temple  has  four  white  porce 
lain  elephants,  more  than  half  way  up  from  its  base, 
facing  the  four  points  of  the  compass,  and  this  same 
temple  is  hung  with  little  bells  from  the  top  of  its 
spire  to  its  base,  which  have  fans  for  tongues,  that 
catch  the  wind's  slightest  movement  and  ring  very 
sweetly.  The  roofs  of  the  temples  turn  up  at  every 
angle  with  a  curved  and  pointed  projection,  shaped 
something  like  a  horn  and  something  like  an 
aspiring  flame.  They  would  be  very  beautiful 
and  interesting  if  they  were  only  clean,  but  half 
their  beauty  is  concealed  under  dirt  and  slime,  and 
for  this  same  reason  all  their  attractions  are  made 
repulsive. 

I  find  it  very  warm  here,  but  they  say  the  heat  is 
nothing  now  compared  to  the  summer.  The  morn- 


LATER  SERVICE  237 

ings  are  the  pleasantest  part  of  the  day,  and  then 
Bangkok  seems  like  a  great,  active  city.  The  river  is 
covered  with  boats  and  there  are  throngs  of  people 
out.  The  royal  boats  and  those  of  the  wealthy  are 
handsomely  decorated,  and  are  a  pretty  sight,  as 
they  dart  about  on  the  river,  with  their  high-pointed 
prows.  I  was  surprised  to  find  so  much  of  the  ship 
ping  belonging  directly  to  Siamese  merchants.  Ves 
sels  flying  the  flag  of  the  white  elephant  were  far 
more  plentiful  than  those  of  any  other  nation.  It  is 
a  very  showy  flag,  but  I  should  think  it  might  present 
a  funny  appearance  when  hoisted  as  a  signal  of  dis 
tress:  that  is,  upside-down. 

On  account  of  so  many  houses  being  on  the  river, 
some  romantic  individuals  endeavor  to  dub  Bangkok 
the  "Venice  of  the  East,"  but  I  could  not  get  very 
enthusiastic  over  any  place  so  slimy  and  muddy,  and 
infested  with  reptiles  and  insects  of  every  description. 
The  mosquitoes  are  terrible,  —  no  ordinary  protec 
tion  suffices  against  them.  Snakes  are  as  plentiful 
as  frogs.  The  sailors  have  to  resort  to  all  sorts  of  de 
vices  to  keep  them  out  of  the  boats,  both  day  and 
night,  when  we  go  ashore.  The  fireflies,  though, 
merit  all  that  has  been  said  about  them.  Not  only 
are  they  the  biggest  and  brightest  that  I  have  seen  in 
all  my  wanderings,  but  their  nocturnal  displays  are 
a  marked  feature  among  Siamese  curiosities. 

Speaking  of  snakes,  our  consul  told  me  he  had 
tried  to  raise  chickens  in  the  grounds  attached  to  the 
consulate,  which  are  in  the  heart  of  the  city,  but 
could  not  succeed  because  boa-constrictors  came 
boldly  in,  night  and  day,  and  carried  them  off. 

The  day  after  the  Royal  Sokan  Festival  closed  I 
went  to  a  croquet  party  at  our  consul's,  and  this  was 


238       GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

a  strong  contrast  to  the  gorgeousness  of  the  day  be 
fore,  with  its  half  barbaric  procession,  succeeded  by 
the  dances  of  a  great  number  of  Lakuan  girls  in  rich, 
high-colored  dresses,  which  had  made  the  whole 
scene  one  of  flashing,  shifting  splendor. 

The  croquet  party  was  as  Western  as  it  could  be 
made  by  English  and  American  residents  in  so  very 
Eastern  a  place  as  Siam.  The  Second  King  sent  his 
band  to  enliven  it.  After  the  Sokan  Festival,  I  paid 
a  series  of  visits  to  royal  personages  and  ministers, 
and  to  the  places  of  interest  about  Bangkok. 

The  Siamese  are  polite  and  gentle  in  their  manners 
and  cordial  to  strangers,  who  are  rarities.  The  for 
eign  community  here  is  only  about  200.  The  Sia 
mese  children  are  beautiful,  and  very  pretty  and  at 
tractive  in  their  ways. 

I  went  to  see  the  ex-regent  and  the  ministers  of  war 
and  of  state.  Mr.  Sickles,  and  the  King's  interpreter, 
Mr.  Alabaster,  took  me  all  over  the  royal  palaces 
and  temples,  parts  of  which  are  very  gorgeous,  and 
all  very  curious.  I  had  a  good  look  at  the  famous 
emerald  image  of  Buddha,  which  is  about  a  foot 
and  a  half  high,  and  said  to  be  carved  from  a  single 
emerald.  The  figure  sits  cross-legged,  and  is  always 
spoken  of  as  the  "emerald  idol,"  but  it  did  not  look 
any  better  to  me  than  dull,  green  glass.  It  is  kept  in 
the  most  splendid  of  the  temples  in  the  King's  gar 
dens.  His  gardens,  and  those  of  the  minister  of  state, 
are  beautiful,  and  in  what  is  called  the  "King's  Lotus 
Garden"  there  are  a  number  of  temples  and  halls 
of  fine  architecture,  according  to  Eastern  ideas,  and 
of  exquisite  workmanship.  Surrounded  as  they  are 
by  everything  rich  and  tropical,  they  fulfill  one's 
dreams  of  an  Oriental  scene.  There  is  a  botanic  gar- 


LATER  SERVICE  239 

den  and  a  "zoo,"  both  full  of  fine  and  rare  speci 
mens.  I  saw  the  stables  where  the  King's  elephants 
are  kept,  and  also  paid  a  visit  to  the  sacred  white 
elephants,  which  are  only  freaks  of  nature,  and, 
though  their  skin  is  lighter  than  common  elephants,  it 
is  far  from  white.  The  sight  of  the  troop  of  war  ele 
phants,  in  all  their  trappings  and  housings  of  war 
and  glittering  with  gold  and  silver,  is  a  magnificent 
spectacle. 

After  I  had  paid  my  visits,  all  those  whom  I  had 
called  upon,  including  the  Second  King,  came  and 
returned  the  attention,  so  I  had  to  keep  up  a  firing 
of  salutes  and  entertaining  for  two  or  three  days.  I 
also  received  from  the  Second  King  and  other  digni 
taries  presents  of  a  bear,  a  monkey,  a  cat  and  an  odd 
sort  of  necklace  and  some  other  queer  things.  The 
monkey  is  an  immense  specimen,  and  we  are  all  afraid 
of  him.  The  boatswain  has  him  in  charge  and  has 
dressed  him  in  clothes,  and  it  is  a  pity  some  of  those 
Middle  Age  painters  did  not  have  him  for  a  model 
to  paint  the  devil  from,  for  he  is  a  terrible  looking 
fellow  and  makes  you  think  of  him  at  once.  He  is 
always  devising  means  to  get  himself  free,  and  then 
he  makes  for  my  cabin,  and  every  now  and  then  he 
will  get  in.  As  monkeys  are  very  imitative,  I  adopt 
a  course  of  high  politeness,  and  he  proceeds  to  follow 
my  example,  only  this  does  not  prevent  him  from 
suddenly  seizing  some  article  and  flinging  it  to  the 
floor  with  a  crash  while  he  gives  me  an  engaging  grin. 
As  soon  as  I  can,  I  get  word  to  the  boatswain,  who 
comes  and  captures  him.  The  cat  is  tailless,  and  of 
singular  color  and  shape. 

Last  Friday  arrangements  were  made  for  me  to 
visit  the  First  King.  Mr.  Sickles  went  with  me  and 


240      GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

some  of  my  officers.  We  arrived  at  the  palace  about 
four  o'clock  P.M.,  when  we  were  met  by  the  King's 
interpreter,  Mr.  Alabaster,  who  conducted  us  to  the 
King's  presence.  We  passed  through  a  gateway 
guarded  by  soldiers,  who  presented  arms  in  Euro 
pean  fashion,  and  then  through  a  passage,  by  the 
harem  apartments,  where  we  caught  glimpses  of  dark 
eyes  peering  at  us.  The  last  hall  we  passed  through, 
I  noticed,  was  surrounded  with  busts  and  portraits  of 
European  kings.  The  next  room  was  a  large  saloon, 
and  here  the  King  was  waiting  to  receive  us,  which 
he  did  in  a  most  friendly  manner.  He  was  dressed 
in  white  stockings,  reaching  nearly  to  the  knee,  and 
low  shoes,  Siamese  trousers,  and  a  black  European 
frockcoat.  He  invited  us  to  be  seated,  and  cigars 
were  passed,  and  then  he  proceeded  to  talk  to  us 
very  pleasantly  in  good  English,  which  he  pro 
nounces  very  carefully.  He  inquired  if  we  had  seen 
the  temples,  gardens  and  places  of  interest  in  Bang 
kok,  and  suggested  anything  interesting  that  re 
mained  for  our  sightseeing,  and  made  polite  inquiries. 
At  the  end  of  about  half  an  hour  we  rose  to  depart, 
but  the  King  asked  us  to  remain  and  see  some  danc 
ing  by  his  Lakuan  girls.  This  was  the  same  brilliant 
spectacle  that  I  have  spoken  of  before,  —  the  grace 
ful  girls  moving  about  in  rich,  high-colored  dresses 
and  jewels,  and  making  a  dazzling  picture. 

The  next  day  (Saturday)  we  paid  a  visit  to  the 
Second  King.  All  the  ceremonies  of  receiving  us 
were  like  those  of  the  day  before,  except  that  the 
surroundings  were  not  quite  so  fine.  This  King  is 
bright  and  agreeable,  asked  many  questions,  and 
seemed  much  interested  about  the  United  States. 
He  invited  us  to  accompany  him  to  the  cremation 


LATER  SERVICE  241 

of  a  nobleman,  whose  funeral  pile  he  was  to  honor  by 
applying  the  torch. 

The  place  where  the  ceremony  was  to  be  performed 
was  across  the  river,  and  we  proceeded  to  it  in  the 
royal  boats.  Here  we  found  the  hero  of  the  occasion, 
namely,  the  corpse,  in  a  coffin,  which  rested  on  a 
bier  of  fireproof  masonry.  The  bier  was  built  in  the 
center  of  a  square,  and  the  funeral  was  being  cele 
brated  like  a  festival.  Soldiers  were  parading  to 
music,  puppet  shows  and  showmen  were  performing, 
and  everything  looked  very  bright  and  gay.  We  as 
cended  to  a  sort  of  veranda  on  one  side  of  the  square, 
and  presently  the  Second  King  was  handed  a  torch. 
By  his  side  was  a  large  artificial  crocodile,  and  when 
he  applied  his  torch  to  the  tail  of  this  animal,  the  fire 
passed  through  its  body  and  was  spit  from  its  mouth, 
so  that  it  struck  the  combustible  material  within 
the  bier,  and,  igniting  the  pile,  consumed  the  corpse. 
This  singular  firework,  I  was  told,  had  some  reli 
gious  significance.  I  have  found  a  good  deal  of  fetich 
worship  among  the  Siamese  that  reminds  me  of  my 
old  discoveries  in  Africa. 

At  a  dinner  with  the  minister  of  state,  the  enter 
tainment  lasted  till  about  midnight,  and  the  con 
versation  flowed  in  an  easy  manner,  as  at  any  gen 
tleman's  table.  Dinner  finished,  the  minister  showed 
me  the  women's  quarters.  They  were  below  the  state 
apartments,  and  we  descended  first  to  a  sort  of  court, 
where  a  fountain  was  playing  in  the  center  of  a  large 
pool  of  water.  It  was  surrounded  by  handsome  col 
umns,  and  so  far  as  I  could  see  in  the  dim  light,  was 
an  elegant  and  ornamental  spot.  I  was  rather  star 
tled  when  a  big  crocodile  splashed  up  in  the  water 
close  by  me.  The  women  were  asleep  in  latticed 


242      GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

compartments  that  reminded  me  of  our  cattle  cars; 
there  were  passageways  between,  and  the  ven 
tilation  seemed  good.  The  minister  is  said  to  be 
kind  to  his  harem,  which  comprises  about  350 
women. 

All  the  great  officials  returned  my  visits  and  came 
on  board  the  Ashuelot,  and  I  have  had  about  all  the 
salutes  and  ceremony  that  I  can  stand.  The  Siamese 
greatnesses  have  names  that  can  be  measured  only 
by  the  yard.  The  King's  is  Prabat  Somdetch  Phra 
Paramenda  Maha  Ehulaloukoru.  But  this  is  beaten 
by  that  of  the  minister  for  the  Northern  Provinces, 
which  is  Chow  Somdetch  Pou  Broma  Wong-tee-to 
Chowfah  Mahah  Malah  Krom  Pra  Bamrapparapak. 

January  19,  1879. 

The  time  has  been  filled  since  I  wrote  last  with 
sight-seeing  and  entertainments,  and  I  am  too  tired 
to  give  you  much  of  a  description.  Mr.  Sickles  gave 
us  a  very  handsome  reception,  and  the  decorations 
of  the  consulate  were  remarkably  fine.  The  Second 
King  sent  his  band  for  the  occasion,  and  there  was 
dancing  in  European  fashion  to  European  tunes. 
The  minister  of  state  gave  us  a  garden  party,  and  we 
sat  in  a  beautiful  pavilion  and  watched  the  Lakuan 
girls  dance;  and  I  dined  at  the  British  consul's  and 
at  the  Portuguese. 

The  chief  event,  though,  was  my  trip  to  Ayuthia, 
the  ancient  capital  of  Siam.  It  is  100  miles  up  the 
river  and  we  went  in  a  house-boat,  towed  by  a 
steam  launch,  both  placed  at  our  disposal  by  the 
foreign  minister.  Ayuthia  is  ten  miles  beyond  Bang- 
pa-in,  which  is  the  First  King's  summer  residence, 
and  where  we  stayed,  everything  being  arranged 


LATER  SERVICE  243 

beforehand  for  our  accommodation.  Indeed,  we  had 
large  and  handsome  quarters.  From  there  we  made 
an  excursion  to  Ayuthia,  of  which  little  remains  now 
but  the  temples,  and  those  are  disgusting  with  slime 
and  insects  and  birds,  and  are  falling  into  rapid  de 
cay.  The  idols  are  fallen  over,  and  everthing  is 
cracked  and  crumbling  that  belonged  to  the  old  city; 
but  the  elephant  stockade  there  is  an  interesting 
thing  to  strangers.  The  elephants  throughout  the 
state  are  looked  upon  as  the  property  of  the  King, 
and  they  are  not  allowed  to  be  killed.  At  certain 
times  of  the  year  the  wild  elephants  are  driven  into 
the  stockade  by  the  help  of  tame  ones.  There  they 
are  kept  till  subdued,  the  most  intelligent  are  se 
lected,  and  the  rest  turned  loose  again.  They  are 
very  useful  in  Siam,  especially  in  traveling  through 
the  country,  and  they  are  trained  for  war  purposes, 
and  a  variety  of  uses.  The  King  once  proposed  send 
ing  a  number  to  America  and  turning  them  loose  in 
our  forests,  thinking  we  might  find  them  as  useful 
here  as  in  Siam;  but  the  offer  was  declined,  with 
thanks,  by  our  Government. 

It  is  rather  dangerous  business  being  about  when 
the  elephants  are  tamed.  The  stockade  is  immensely 
high  and  strong,  and  within  it  are  huge  posts  to 
which  the  beasts  are  fastened.  There  is  a  high 
platform  built  for  spectators;  when  the  elephants 
are  being  driven  in,  there  is  no  place  which  is  very 
safe,  but  it  is  a  most  exciting  scene.  They  tell  a  great 
many  stories  here  about  the  wisdom  of  the  elephants, 
and  what  they  can  be  taught,  but  I  did  not  have 
time  to  verify  them.  The  King  is  trying  to  make  a 
fine  summer  resort  of  Bang-pa-in.  He  is  laying  out 
the  grounds  about  his  palace  in  artificial  lakes  and 


244       GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

grottos,  and  is  making  use  of  a  good  many  European 
ideas  in  his  architecture  and  gardening.  He  is  in 
tending  to  build  villas  and  a  church  for  the  use  of 
visitors. 

In  the  great  statues  of  granite  about  the  Kings' 
palaces  and  temples,  and  in  much  of  the  solid  work 
done  for  the  past  Kings,  I  am  reminded  of  old  Chi 
nese  stonework,  and  have  an  idea  the  same  class  of 
workmen  must  have  been  employed.  I  did  not  stay 
long  enough  to  make  much  of  a  study  of  Siam;  but 
it  seemed  to  me  to  be  a  very  interesting  problem. 

There  is  an  odd  mixture  of  Western  ideas,  and  an 
interest  in  Western  matters,  which  is  not  found  in 
other  Oriental  countries.  They  all  speak  English 
well,  in  what  I  might  call  the  court  circle,  and  there 
certainly  must  have  been  some  rulers  here  of  marked 
ability  and  of  active  minds.  I  heard  much  admira 
tion  expressed  for  the  United  States,  and  they  were 
eager  to  hear  about  it.  One  of  the  princes  is  named 
George  Washington. 

The  letters  that  follow  suggest  further  the 
routine  life  of  Commander  Perkins  in  the  Far 
East  and  describe  the  welcome  given  to  General 
Grant  as  he  visited  China  in  his  trip  around  the 
world. 

AT  SEA,  January  21,  1879. 

I  am  now  on  my  way  to  Saigon.  Have  been  in 
terested  in  having  target  practice,  and  in  testing  the 
speed  of  the  ship.  I  took  on  board,  for  first-class 
boys,  two  of  the  nephews  of  the  foreign  minister,  at 
his  request.  I  had  to  return  the  huge  monkey  with 
which  I  was  presented  in  Siam.  He  proved  intract- 


LATER  SERVICE  245 

able,  and  was  a  terror  to  most  of  the  seamen.  I  sent 
him  back  with  the  most  polite  explanations  I  could 
think  of. 

February  5,  1879. 

We  are  now  steaming  up  the  Gulf  of  Tonquin 
and  so  along  the  coast  to  Hong-Kong.  After  coming 
down  the  Gulf  of  Siam,  we  rounded  Cambodia  Point, 
and  went  to  Saigon  in  Cochin-China.  .  .  . 

If  I  thought  Siam  a  terrible  place  for  beasts  and 
insects,  I  do  not  know  what  to  say  of  Saigon  and 
its  surroundings.  Snakes  of  the  worst  description 
abound,  and  tigers  infest  the  country  and  are  very 
bold.  One  carried  off  the  lighthouse  keeper  the  other 
day.  .  .  .  There  is  only  one  American  resident  in  Sai 
gon,  and  there  is  no  trade  with  us;  but  the  exports  of 
rice  are  very  large.  .  .  . 

It  seems  strange  enough  to  steam  along  this  coast, 
to  stop  at  these  populous  cities,  and  see  all  this 
strange  and  teeming  life,  of  beasts  as  well  as  human 
beings,  all  so  different  from  each  other  and  so  fully 
different  from  what  one  is  in  the  habit  of  considering 
and  comprehending.  It  seems  as  if  I  were  in  a 
dream. 

Just  before  coming  here,  we  went  into  Touron  Bay 
on  the  coast  of  Anam.  .  .  .  We  found  the  inhabitants 
in  a  terrible  state  of  destitution,  owing  to  the  failure 
of  last  year's  crops.  There  were  two  vessels  of  war 
in  the  bay  flying  the  Anamese  flag,  but  they  were 
falling  to  pieces;  and  there  were  two  barques,  one 
French  and  one  English,  which  had  brought  cargoes 
of  rice.  About  the  bay  were  villages  with  starving 
people  and  there  was  no  trade,  and  all  was  dilapi 
dated  and  forlorn.  We  have  been  detained  some- 


246      GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

what  by  unfavorable  weather,  but  to-morrow  ex 
pect  to  make  the  harbor  of  Pak-hoi. 

February  n,  1879. 

Look  to  the  left  of  the  Gulf  of  Tonquin,  and  you 
will  see  the  island  of  Hainan.  It  is  a  large  island,  and 
has  a  million  of  inhabitants.  I  visited  it  when  I  first 
came  out,  and  sent  home  a  report  about  it.  It  is  al 
most  unknown  to  us,  and  is  difficult  of  access.  The 
people  are  hostile  to  strangers,  and  in  the  interior 
they  are  perfect  savages  and  are  fierce.  The  island 
was  in  a  state  of  commotion  owing  to  a  feud  be 
tween  two  powerful  clans.  Imperialist  troops  had 
been  sent  from  China,  but  they  had  been  well  beaten, 
and  were  waiting  for  reinforcements.  There  was,  of 
course,  no  trade  and  no  shipping  in  the  harbors, 
either  of  Pak-hoi  or  Hoi-how.  There  are  five  white 
persons  at  Pak-hoi  and  twelve  at  Hoi-how.  The 
ports  were  open  to  foreign  trade  only  about  two 
years  ago. 

HONG-KONG,  March  12,  1879. 

My  life  now  is  such  an  exchange  of  saluting  and 
visiting  and  naval  ceremony  that  I  feel  tempted  to 
give  you  a  little  journal  of  it. 

Wednesday,  February  12,  we  passed  Green  Is 
land  and  arrived  off  the  tower  in  Hong-Kong  Harbor. 
We  fired  salutes  to  the  port  and  the  English  and 
French  admirals.  Our  salute  was  returned  by  the 
shore  battery,  the  English  man-of-war  Iron  Duke, 
and  the  French  man-of-war  Armide. 

The  next  day  the  commanding  officers  of  the  ships 
of  war  in  the  harbor  called  on  me;  then  the  consuls 
from  various  nationalities  paid  me  visits,  which  were 


LATER  SERVICE  247 

always  recognized  with  a  salute;  then  I  sent  an  offi 
cer  and  began  investigating  the  shipping  and  every 
thing  that  came  within  my  province  to  attend  to,  in 
connection  with  American  interests.  In  the  mean 
time  mails,  official  and  otherwise,  were  arriving,  re 
ports  were  to  be  made  out,  inquiries  coming  from 
the  admiral,  meteorological  blanks  to  be  filled  up, 
and  countless  duties,  naval  and  otherwise.  Invita 
tions  came  from  dignitaries  for  various  entertain 
ments. 

Monday,  February  16,  I  went  to  the  races,  which 
were  attended  by  the  governor  and  his  wife,  and  all 
the  fashion  of  Hong-Kong.  February  22,  we  dressed 
ship  'rainbow,'  as  it  is  called,  in  honor  of  the  day, 
and  as  I  had  invited  the  English  and  French  ships  to 
participate,  they  also  dressed  ships,  American  en 
sign  at  the  main.  This  was  at  sunrise.  Then  at  noon 
we  fired  a  salute  of  twenty-one  guns,  and  so  did  the 
shore  battery,  and  the  English  and  French  men-of- 
war. 

February  24,  the  English  troop-ship  Himalaya  ar 
rived  with  the  Twenty-fourth  regiment,  called  the 
Inniskillings,  which  has  come  to  relieve  the  Seventy- 
fourth.  In  the  course  of  time  the  officers  of  the  regi 
ment  paid  me  visits,  and  my  evenings  have  been 
filled  with  dinners,  with  the  different  admirals  and 
officials.  Nearly  every  day  ships  of  war  come  in. 
A  German  has  just  arrived  from  Singapore.  A  Japa 
nese  corvette,  the  Seiki,  has  also  arrived  lately,  after 
an  absence  of  a  year,  being  the  first  Japanese  man- 
of-war  ever  sent  to  Europe  from  Japan.  Sir  Thomas 
Wade  and  suite,  arriving  by  English  mail,  were  re 
ceived  with  salutes,  and  provided  with  a  guard  of 
honor. 


248       GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

WEDNESDAY,  April  30,  1879. 

The  French  mail  steamer  Irawaddy  has  just  come 
in  flying  the  American  ensign  at  the  main,  with  Gen 
eral  Grant  and  suite  on  board.  .  .  . 

His  arrival  was  announced  by  a  gun  from  the 
Peak,  in  time  for  most  of  the  shipping  in  the  harbor 
to  dress  ship,  and  it  made  a  pretty  sight.  When  the 
Irawaddy  came  in,  all  the  ships  dipped  flags,  and  the 
mail  steamer  acknowledged  it.  Then  a  large  party, 
including  all  the  prominent  American  officials  in 
China,  went  on  board  the  mail  steamer  to  receive  the 
General.  The  next  move  was  to  come  to  the  Ashue- 
lot. 

The  Hong-Kong  papers  describe  this  visit:  — 

At  five  minutes  to  four  the  double  party,  consist 
ing  of  General  Grant  and  suite,  and  those  who  were 
calling  upon  him,  entered  the  Victoria,  and  proceeded 
to  the  U.S.S.  Ashuelot.  The  gallant  General,  on  set 
ting  his  foot  on  the  deck,  over  which  floated  the 
Stars  and  Stripes,  received  a  salute  of  twenty-one 
guns,  and  the  national  flag  was  run  up  at  the  fore  and 
the  yards  manned.  .  .  .  The  time  allotted  for  their 
visit  to  the  Ashuelot  was  three  quarters  of  an  hour. 
Captain  Perkins  then  escorted  his  visitors  on  board 
the  Victoria,  which  lying  to,  until  the  General  had 
received  the  salute  of  departure  of  twenty-one  guns, 
—  the  marines  presenting  arms,  and  the  seamen 
manning  the  yards,  —  steamed  slowly  toward  Mur 
ray  Pier. 

On  Monday,  May  5,  General  Grant  with  his 
party,  boarding  the  Ashuelot,  left  Hong-Kong  for 


LATER   SERVICE  249 

a  visit  to  Canton  and  Macao.  The  Chinese 
gunboats  and  the  river  boats  all  seemed  to 
know  who  was  passing,  for  there  was  constant 
firing  of  salutes  and  dipping  of  flags.  As  they 
reached  Shameen,  at  nine  o'clock,  - 

There  was  a  great  display  of  lanterns  at  the  con 
sulate,  and  twenty  war  junks,  anchored  in  line  oppo 
site,  were  illuminated.  The  Chinese  gunboats  were 
also  illuminated  and  burned  signal  lights  and  fired 
rockets  in  answer  to  the  Ashuelot. 

The  Hong-Kong  Press  says :  — 

At  eight  o'clock  on  Tuesday,  salutes  were  ex 
changed  by  the  Ashuelot  and  the  Chinese  gunboats,  and 
the  Ashuelot  was  kept  constantly  saluting  throughout 
the  morning  by  Chinese  displays  of  bunting.  At  the 
consulate,  the  General  and  his  party  received  visi 
tors.  At  ten  o'clock,  the  General  and  his  party,  and 
the  captain  and  officers  of  the  Ashuelot,  went  to  pay 
a  visit  to  the  Viceroy  at  his  Yamen.  They  went  in 
chairs,  and  the  party  were  headed  by  mounted 
mandarins  and  a  body  of  troops.  Traffic  had  been 
stopped,  and  each  crossing,  or  end  of  a  street,  was 
kept  by  troops.  This  was  necessary,  as  the  pressure 
to  get  a  sight  of  the  illustrious  warrior  and  states 
man  was  in  some  places  tremendous,  and  it  was  as 
much  as  the  soldiers  could  do  to  keep  the  crowd  back. 
The  distance  from  the  United  States  consulate  to  the 
Viceroy's  Yamen  is  three  miles,  and  the  whole  route 
was  lined  by  Chinese,  to  the  number  of  tens  of  thou 
sands.  General  Grant  said  he  never  saw  such  a  line 
of  faces,  and  his  estimate  is,  that  at  least  a  hundred 


c 


250      GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

thousand  persons  saw  the  procession  of  chairs  pass 
by.  .  .  .  The  chairs  were  deposited  inside  the  Yamen 
proper,  and  here  400  or  500  military  and  other  manda 
rins  lined  the  approach  to  the  Viceroy  and  his  suite.  .  .  . 

The  party  being  received  by  the  Chinese  officials, 
the  Viceroy  himself  led  General  Grant  to  a  seat.  The 
officials  distributed  themselves  among  the  foreign 
ers,  while  the  party  were  being  seated  in  a  semicircle 
in  the  reception-room.  By  the  side  of  each  guest  was 
placed,  on  massive  tea-poys,  in  delicate  Chinese  cups, 
tea  made  a  la  Chinoise,  and  a  lively  conversation  took 
place  between  the  principal  officials  and  principal 
visitors,  which  was  interpreted  by  Mr.  Chester  Hoi- 
combe,  charge  d'affaires  of  the  United  States,  who 
had  come  from  Peking  to  welcome  General  Grant, 
and  by  the  Chinese  interpreter  attached  to  the 
United  States  consulate  at  Canton. 

The  Chinese  mandarins  were  cordial  in  their  man 
ner  and  laid  aside  much  restraint.  They  wore  the 
different  buttons  of  their  rank,  and  the  Viceroy  had 
an  extra  batch  of  aides-de-camp  in  attendance.  At 
the  sounding  of  a  bell,  the  Viceroy  rose  and  con 
ducted  General  Grant  to  another  apartment,  which 
was,  however,  so  distant  that  it  required  about  a  five 
minutes'  walk  to  reach  it.  The  party  and  officials 
formed  a  procession,  with  due  regard  to  precedence, 
and  marched  to  a  room  where  refreshments  had  been 
laid  on  a  large  table  in  a  very  handsome  apart 
ment.  Seats  had  been  placed  for  the  exact  number 
of  guests,  whose  cards  had  been  sent  early  in  the 
morning,  and  when  all  were  arranged  in  place,  the 
sight  presented  was  a  very  fine  spectacle,  as  will  be 
easily  imagined,  —  the  naval,  military,  and  consu 
lar  uniforms  contrasting  well  with  the  rich  dresses  of 


LATER   SERVICE  251 

the  Chinese,  and  the  throng  of  at  least  300  servants 
in  fresh  costumes,  of  different  nationalities,  forming 
the  background.  With  the  exception  of  the  glasses 
and  knives  and  forks,  all  the  material  of  the  table 
was  Chinese,  and  consisted  of  the  finest  of  that  cera 
mic  ware  for  which  China  is  so  celebrated.  The  Vice 
roy  pledged  his  guests  repeatedly,  and  seemed  to 
enjoy  his  Clicquot.  After  about  eighty  dishes  had 
been  discussed,  and  tea  had  again  been  served,  a 
signal  was  given  by  the  Viceroy,  and  each  guest  was 
presented  with  his  hat  by  a  servant,  while  other  serv 
ants  brought  lights,  and  cigars  being  handed  round, 
the  procession  re-formed  and  returned  to  the  recep 
tion-room,  where  the  visitors  took  their  leave. 

Next  morning  the  Viceroy  and  other  officials 
called  on  General  Grant  at  the  American  con 
sulate,  and  in  the  evening  the  General  and  his 
party,  including  Commander  Perkins,  went 
again  to  the  Viceroy's,  this  time  to  dinner,  which 
for  stately  ceremony  and  the  number  of  dishes 
could  hardly  be  surpassed.  The  Hong-Kong 
Press  describes  the  dinner  with  detail:  — 

It  was  getting  towards  dusk  when  the  party  arrived 
at  the  Yamen,  and  a  crowd  of  servants  were  light 
ing  up  the  palace.  The  effect  of  the  thousand  of  tiny 
lamps,  with  here  and  there  enormous  lanterns,  light 
ing  the  halls  and  rooms  to  the  top  of  their  vaulted 
ceiling,  was  beautiful,  and  a  single  glance  brought  to 
the  mind  at  once  whole  chapters  of  the  "Arabian 
Nights." 

The  Yamen  and  its  premises  are  cf  great  extent, 


252       GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

and  the  attendants  on  the  high  officials  and  the  at 
tendants  on  the  guests,  and  the  servants  attached 
to  the  place,  were  so  numerous  that  they  could  be 
numbered  by  hundreds.  They  were  all  dressed  in 
silk  and  rich  materials  of  various  colors,  which  added 
to  the  brilliancy  of  the  scene.  The  Viceroy  and  five 
of  the  highest  officials  received  the  guests,  and  after 
the  ceremony  of  shaking  hands  and  much  kotowing 
was  gone  through  with,  the  Viceroy  led  the  way  to  a 
large  apartment  where  seats  were  arranged  in  a  semi 
circle.  Here  tea  was  served  while  the  guests  were 
fanned  cool  by  a  row  of  servants  with  palm-leaf  fans, 
one  of  whom  stood  behind  each  seated  guest.  Soon 
after  "the  chimes  of  silver-sounding  bells"  an 
nounced  dinner,  and  the  party,  forming  a  stately 
procession  according  to  rank,  marched  slowly  through 
several  courts  and  corridors,  crossed  an  illuminated 
garden,  and  ultimately  reached  the  dining-hall. 

The  banquet  began  with  sweetmeats,  cakes,  fruit- 
rolls,  apricot  and  melon  seeds,  passed  in  little  dishes; 
then  eight  courses  of  meats,  fish  and  vegetables;  then 
fruits,  cakes,  preserves  and  honey;  then  birds'-nest 
soup,  roast  duck,  mushrooms,  pigeons'  eggs,  shark 
fins  and  sea-crabs;  then,  succeeding  each  other, 
steamed  cakes,  ham-pie,  vermicelli,  baked  white  pig 
eons,  stewed  chickens,  lotus  seeds,  pea-soup,  ham  in 
honey,  radish  cakes,  date  cakes,  sucking  pigs  (served 
whole),  French  confectionery,  bellies  of  fat  fish,  roast 
mutton,  pears  in  honey,  the  soles  of  white  pigeons' 
feet,  wild  ducks  in  thorn-apple  jelly,  egg-balls,  lotus 
seed  soup,  roast  chicken,  fruit  and  vegetables,  Mon 
golian  mushrooms,  sliced  flag-bulbs,  fried  egg-plant, 
salted  shrimps,  orange  tarts  and  cakes,  prune  sauce, 
biche-de-mer,  ham  with  white  and  with  red  sauce, 


LATER   SERVICE  253 

ham  combined  with  pumpkins  and  squash,  almonds 
and  beans,  and  so  on  beyond  count.  Cigars  and 
pipes  were  constantly  passed,  and  the  Chinese 
showed  themselves  familiar  with  European  liquors. 

The  bill  of  fare  was  very  handsome;  the  represen 
tations  in  gold  or  red  being  emblematic  of  good 
wishes  for  the  happiness,  honors  and  longevity  of  the 
guest.  The  dinner  occupied  an  unconscionable  time. 
Many  smoked  water  pipes,  held  by  the  servants  who 
attended  for  the  purpose,  while  General  Grant  and 
Mr.  Borie  walked  about  the  garden  between  some  of 
the  courses. 

After  the  visit  to  Macao  the  Ashuelot,  with 
the  General's  party,  returned  to  Hong-Kong. 
Here  it  was  found  that  Commander  Johnson, 
who  had  been  appointed  to  relieve  Commander 
Perkins,  had  arrived.  Perkins  lost  no  time  in 
turning  over  his  command  and  in  embarking 
on  the  mail  steamer  about  to  leave  for  San 
Francisco. 

By  the  ordinary  course  of  advancement 
Perkins  became  captain  in  March,  1882.  His 
captain's  cruise  was  made  in  1884-85  on  the 
historic  Hartford.  Leaving  San  Francisco  he 
proceeded  southward,  stopping  at  San  Jose  de 
Guatemala,  where  some  photographs  were  to  be 
taken  for  the  Smithsonian  Institution.  From 
Panama  the  Hartford  went  to  Payata,  Peru, 


254      GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

where  Rear-Admiral  Upshur,  commanding  the 
Pacific  Fleet,  transferred  his  flag  to  her,  Per 
kins  continuing  as  captain.  For  the  promotion 
of  American  interests  the  fleet  moved  on  to  the 
south,  visiting  several  ports  of  Chili  and  then 
went  back  to  Peru.  The  latter  republic  had 
lately  emerged  from  a  disastrous  war  with  Chili, 
and  the  Peruvians  of  the  interior  were  refusing 
to  recognize  General  Iglesias,  the  constitutional 
President. 

With  the  small  number  of  ships  in  the  navy 
and  in  commission,  —  this  was  the  period  when 
the  navy  had  sunk  to  the  lowest  point  touched 
since  the  Civil  War,  —  many  of  the  tours  of 
duty  were  very  short.  After  about  a  year  in  the 
Pacific  Fleet,  Captain  Perkins,  as  well  as  Rear- 
Admiral  Upshur,  was  detached. 

It  was  perhaps  fortunate  for  Perkins  that  he 
was  thus  relieved,  for  although  his  exuberant 
spirits  never  failed,  and  he  would  seldom  allow 
even  those  of  his  own  family  to  suppose  he  was 
not  in  excellent  health,  there  were  signs,  to 
which  he  had  not  been  blind,  that  he  must  be  on 
his  guard  against  exposure  or  undue  fatigue.  In 
1882  he  had  obtained  a  year's  leave  of  absence, 
which  he  spent  with  Mrs.  Perkins  and  Miss 


CAPTAIN  G.   H.   PERKINS,    1884 


LATER   SERVICE  255 

Isabel  in  Europe.  Without  Mrs.  Perkins's  knowl 
edge  of  his  condition,  he  had  consulted  some 
specialists  in  Germany,  who  told  him  of  a  slight 
affection  of  the  heart,  as  well  as  some  other 
troubles.  These,  though  not  in  their  opinion 
such  as  need  cause  immediate  anxiety,  were  suffi 
ciently  serious  so  that  they  recommended  him 
to  undertake  no  more  sea  service.  Neverthe 
less,  he  went  as  stated  on  his  captain's  cruise. 
Three  years  later  he  deemed  it  a  matter  of  pru 
dence  to  apply  for  retirement. 

Thus  on  the  1st  of  October,  1891,  when  Per- 
'kins  had  served  in  the  navy  just  forty  years  to 
the  day,  he  was  placed  on  the  retired  list.  New 
Hampshire  Congressmen,  being  convinced  that 
there  should  be  some  recognition  of  his  illus 
trious  service  in  the  Civil  War,  introduced  a  bill 
for  his  promotion  to  the  rank  of  commodore  on 
the  retired  list;  to  avoid  debate  and  possible 
opposition  from  Congress,  at  times  so  strangely 
parsimonious  in  the  payment  of  long-standing 
obligations,  the  provision  was  included  that  the 
promotion  should  be  made  without  increase  of 
pay.  The  bill  passed,  and  on  May  9,  1896,  he 
became  Commodore  Perkins,  U.S.  Navy. 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE    SAILOR-FARMER 

EVERY  sailor  is  an  idealist.  Probably  the 
commonest  dream  cheering  him  in  the 
desolate  waste  of  waters  is  that  of  the  time  when 
he  is  no  longer  roaming  the  seas,  but  has  become 
the  possessor  of  a  well-cared-for  and  productive 
farm,  where,  with  wife  and  children  and  innu 
merable  pets,  he  will  find  rest  and  contentment. 
This  is  the  sailor's  Arcadia.  When  there  comes 
opportunity  of  making  this  dream  a  reality, 
while  there  may  be  few,  long  used  to  the  sea, 
who  can  fully  adapt  themselves  to  a  life  with 
such  sweeping  changes,  it  reveals  so  much  that 
is  fresh  and  living  that  it  is  seldom  an  entire 
failure. 

The  naval  officer,  who  has  the  prospect  of  cer 
tain  retirement  at  sixty-two,  should  of  all  men 
have  active  and  serious  interests  outside  his  pro 
fession  as  well  as  in  it.  Further,  he  should  have 
them  fairly  early  in  life;  for  the  man  who  delays 


THE  SAILOR-FARMER  257 

identifying  himself  with  what  lies  beyond  his 
immediate  circle  until  he  is  pushed  out,  may 
find  the  new  alliances  hard  to  form.  In  the 
latter  case  when  on  retirement  he  suddenly  has 
unlimited  time  and  opportunity  to  do  what  will 
yield  the  purest  pleasure,  life  palls  upon  him. 
He  is  so  bored  that  he  sighs  even  for  the  old 
routine,  no  matter  how  dull  it  may  have  been. 
There  is  nothing  to  quicken  the  heart  and  keep 
the  vital  currents  moving.  With  stagnation 
there  follows  mental  and  physical  decay  and 
death. 

Farming  in  roughest  New  Hampshire  had 
been  for  Perkins  during  the  eighties  a  mere 
hobby,  to  which  he  had  given  attention  at  ir 
regular  intervals  when  naval  duty  would  permit. 
This,  during  the  eight  years  remaining  to  him 
after  retirement,  grew  to  be  an  absorbing  in 
terest,  and,  although  it  would  not  have  been 
financially  attractive  to  outsiders,  it  was  of  in- 
calcuable  benefit  to  himself  and  to  the  dozens 
employed  by  him.  In  this  we  are  reminded  of 
the  English  officer  and  writer,  Captain  Marryat, 
who  in  an  unpublished  fragment  observes  that 
a  sailor  on  land  is  "but  a  sort  of  Adam  —  a  new 
creature,  starting  into  existence  as  it  were  in  his 


258      GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

prime";  this  new  creature  naturally  takes  to 
farming  because  "the  greatest  pleasures  of  man 
consist  in  imitating  the  Deity  in  his  creative 
power."  Captain  Marryat  was  probably  writing 
of  his  own  experience,  for  in  his  later  years  he 
turned  to  agriculture  and  knew  of  its  pleasures; 
"but,"  observes  his  biographer,  "the  profits 
otherwise  did  not  appear." 

Mention  was  made  in  the  first  chapter  of  a 
tiny  house  on  a  farm  at  Webster  to  which  Judge 
Perkins  and  George  would  ride,  spending  the 
night  there  that  they  might  start  early  next 
morning  to  fish  in  the  "pond,"  a  half-mile  away. 
This  in  later  years  Perkins  had  visited  again  and 
again,  and  in  its  rugged  surroundings  found 
such  lasting  pleasure  that  he  made  it  his  summer 
home.  The  original  house,  consisting  of  four 
rooms,  built  around  a  huge  chimney,  was  thirty 
feet  square,  and  suggested  the  name,  "The 
Box."  Although  to  meet  later  needs  the  house 
had  room  after  room  added,  together  with  broad 
porches  and  almost  all  possible  comforts,  this 
unpretentious  name  was  retained. 

"The  Box"  had  originally  but  a  small  piece 
of  land  connected  with  it.  Once  while  Perkins 
was  making  a  short  stay,  when  still  on  active 


THE  SAILOR-FARMER  259 

duty  in  the  navy,  an  elderly  woman  came  to 
him,  asking  that  he  buy  her  farm.  She  was 
tired  of  the  lonely  life  with  its  privations.  The 
farm  was  three  quarters  of  a  mile  distant  from 
"The  Box"  and  the  price  asked  was  more  than 
she  could  have  got  from  any  one  else  in  the 
vicinity.  Further,  the  land,  like  so  much  of  the 
neighboring  property,  was  chiefly  distinguished 
by  hill-slopes  and  boulders,  its  thin  soil  ex 
hausted.  It  was  not  alluring  and  Perkins  did 
not  over-much  want  it;  but  he  felt  sorry  for  the 
woman  and  promptly  accepted  her  offer.  It 
now  occurred  to  him  that  it  was  unfortunate 
and  quite  unnecessary  that  his  new  possession 
and  similar  places  should  pass  into  the  senile 
class  known  as  "abandoned  farms."  He  re 
solved  to  renew  the  soil  and  make  it  productive. 
Thus  it  was  that  the  naval  officer  seriously  gave 
his  thoughts  to  farming. 

He  purchased  other  places  near  by.  He  en 
gaged  a  young  man  of  experience  for  superin 
tendent,  Mr.  Milton  J.  Walker,  a  choice  that 
proved  to  be  unusually  fortunate. 

From  this  time  on  he  would  spend  four  or 
more  months  a  year  at  Webster,  and  would  run 
up  for  an  occasional  short  stay  during  the 


260       GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

winter.  Mrs.  Perkins  says  he  would  exclaim  on 
again  coming  to  the  much  loved  hill  on  which 
"The  Box"  stood,  "Oh,  is  n't  it  good  to  breathe 
this  air  and  to  think  that  no  one  has  ever 
breathed  it  before!"  The  view,  as  one  stands 
just  to  the  east  of  the  house,  is  one  of  the  love 
liest  in  southern  New  Hampshire.  Hills  and 
mountains  rise  in  all  directions,  with  an  occa 
sional  farm  nestled  among  them,  the  light-green 
meadows  giving  brightness  to  the  scene,  and  the 
bit  of  cultivation  affording  a  pleasing  contrast 
to  the  roughness  of  the  surroundings.  Eight 
or  ten  miles  distant  above  a  well-cultivated 
hill  loom  the  massive  shoulders  of  Mount  Kear- 
sarge,  shaggy  with  heavy  woods,  and  varying 
from  a  light  purple  to  a  black  according  to  at 
mospheric  conditions.  To  its  right  and  farther 
distant  are  the  Ragged  Mountains,  also  wooded, 
their  rough  sides  well  outlined  against  the  sky. 
An  important  part  of  the  scene  is  what  lies  in 
the  same  direction  as  the  Ragged  Mountains  but 
in  the  foreground;  beyond  the  grassy,  gently 
rounded  slope  of  Box  Hill,  and  the  half-mile  of 
bristling  pines,  is  a  sparkling  lake  two  miles 
long  and  a  half-mile  wide,  set  like  a  jewel  among 
the  pine,  beech,  birch,  and  oak.  Commodore 


THE   SAILOR-FARMER  261 

Perkins  purchased  much  of  the  land  surround 
ing  the  lake  and  was  able  to  prevent  the  cutting 
of  the  timber.  The  farm,  where  Mr.  Walker 
had  his  home,  lay  on  the  near  end  of  the  lake, 
but  not  where  it  could  be  seen  from  the  hill. 
The  lake  was  earlier  known  by  that  most  un- 
romantic  name,  so  common  in  old  New  Eng 
land,  "Long  Pond,"  but  this  was  later  changed. 
The  Commodore's  friend,  Professor  Charles 
Sargent,  of  Harvard,  had  boasted  of  the  super 
iority  of  a  lake  on  his  land  because  it  had  an 
Indian  name.  The  Commodore  grieved  that  he 
must  let  the  challenge  pass  unnoticed,  where 
upon  Miss  Susan,  ever  sympathetic  and  re 
sourceful,  proposed  the  name  "Winnepocket." 
This  at  once  pleased  the  Commodore  and  here 
after  was  substituted  for  Long  Pond,  not  only 
in  "The  Box"  household  but  on  the  State 
maps. 

Farming  for  the  Commodore  was  like  a 
game.  He  had  no  desire  to  buy  well-cared-for 
farms  near  Concord  or  Contoocook,  which  any 
man  could  make  productive.  His  interest  was 
rather  in  taking  the  wild  or  neglected  lands,  re 
garded  as  worthless,  and  making  good  farms  of 
them.  The  excitement  of  the  game  lay  in  sue- 


262      GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

ceeding  where  others  had  failed  or  feared  to 
venture. 

This  is  shown  by  an  instance  on  the  Burpee 
farm,  which  he  had  purchased.  Mr.  Walker 
had  called  attention  to  a  large  tract  there, 
which,  in  his  opinion,  when  drained  and  cleared 
would  make  excellent  meadow  land.  There  was 
work  and  expense  involved,  but  the  Commo 
dore  told  him  to  try  it. 

One  morning  when  the  Commodore  had  rid 
den  out  to  inspect  the  work,  a  neighboring 
farmer  passed. 

"What  are  you  doing  there?"  was  the  latter's 
query. 

The  words  and  the  voice  had  in  them  a  chal 
lenge,  but  the  Commodore  with  excellent  spirit 
explained  the  project. 

"You'll  never  make  anything  out  of  that 
soil,"  volunteered  the  scoffer.  "But  you  might 
as  well  sink  your  money  there  as  anywhere  else. 
If  you  get  good  English  hay  out  of  that  bog,  you 
may  use  my  head  for  a  football." 

The  Commodore  had  kept  up  a  bold  front 
while  the  scoffer  was  talking,  but  when  the  lat 
ter  departed,  it  was  evident  that  his  confidence 
had  been  somewhat  shaken.  Mr.  Walker,  how- 


THE  SAILOR-FARMER  263 

ever,  held  that  the  project  was  sound.  Where 
upon  the  Commodore  again  told  him  to  go 
ahead. 

Three  years  later  the  Commodore  and  Mr. 
Walker  went  to  see  the  hay  cut  on  the  tract  that 
had  been  reclaimed.  Walker's  judgment  had 
been  correct,  and  the  crop  was  extraordinarily 
heavy.  As  chance  would  have  it  the  scoffing 
farmer  came  along  and  joined  them. 

"Don't  you  call  this  good  hay?"  incidentally 
inquired  Walker,  moving  towards  some  not  yet 
cut,  which  came  as  high  as  his  waist,  and  was 
easily  three  times  as  thick  as  the  average  crop 
in  that  vicinity. 

The  farmer  affirmed  with  positiveness  that  it 
was. 

"Do  you  remember  promising  that  when  we 
grew  good  English  hay  in  this  bog  we  might  use 
your  head  for  a  football?" 

The  Commodore,  who  had  recollected  the 
earlier  conversation,  listened  with  delight,  rub 
bing  his  palms  vigorously  together,  a  habit  of 
his  when  excited.  In  the  game  the  novices  had 
defeated  the  veteran.  His  satisfaction  over  the 
achievement  lasted  all  summer. 

Farm  after  farm  was  now  added,  the  number 


264      GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

eventually  reaching  sixteen,  comprising  1800 
acres.  The  Commodore  seemed  to  have  no  de 
sire  that  the  land  should  be  continuous  and 
form  a  great  domain;  indeed,  some  of  the  farms 
were  three  or  four  miles  distant. 

He  was  still  in  spirit  and  method  the  naval 
officer,  the  captain;  though  he  gave  full  power 
to  the  one  corresponding  to  the  executive  officer, 
Mr.  Walker,  he  must  have  detailed  reports,  and 
himself  make  daily  inspections  if  possible.  When 
at  "The  Box"  he  knew  what  each  man  was  do 
ing  and  showed  no  small  ability  in  keeping  every 
one  at  work.  He  would  produce  from  his  pocket 
a  list  of  instructions  for  Mr.  Walker,  nor  did  he 
forget  what  he  had  told  him.  The  precision  and 
regularity  of  ship  life  he  never  outgrew.  If  he 
had  arranged  to  start  for  Concord  at  six  in  the 
morning,  he  wanted  to  leave  at  six,  no  matter 
what  the  weather  might  be.  Commonly  at  nine 
he  would  be  in  the  saddle,  about  to  make  the 
rounds  of  the  farms  in  one  direction,  say  to 
the  east,  and  in  the  afternoon  he  would  go  to 
the  farms  to  the  west.  At  times  Mr.  Walker 
was  with  him,  or  he  might  be  accompanied  by 
his  daughter  Isabel,  his  nephew  Roger  Foster,  or 
a  guest  staying  at  "The  Box,"  for  companion- 


COMMODORE  G.   H.   PERKINS 

From  the  painting  by  Vinton 


THE  SAILOR-FARMER  265 

ship  adds  zest  to  a  game.  Even  the  small  inci 
dents  of  farming  had  a  constant  interest  for 
him.  He  would  stand  by  as  in  the  wet  spring 
Walker  would  drive  out  a  huge  load  of  dressing, 
skillfully  managing  a  team  of  four  horses  in  a 
barnyard  where  there  were  several  sharp  turns 
and  some  spots  rather  miry.  He  delighted  in  the 
skill  thus  shown,  and  again  his  palms  rubbed 
together  expressing  his  satisfaction. 

Following  his  naval  ideas  he  expected  that  all 
his  employees  should  give  unhesitating  obedi 
ence,  and  finish  the  work  that  had  been  begun 
with  the  utmost  expedition.  The  men  had 
hardly  been  accustomed  to  this  and  they  could 
not  easily  adapt  themselves  to  the  new  regime. 
Also  he  required  that  whenever  a  group  of  men 
were  working  together  some  one  should  be  in 
command;  commonly  this  person  was  but  a 
temporary  foreman  who  would  also  do  his  full 
share  of  the  task,  but  upon  him  rested  the  re 
sponsibility  for  the  work's  being  properly  done. 
The  rule  was  strictly  applied  whether  there 
were  twelve  or  two  men  at  a  task.  This  bit  of 
naval  organization  was  decidedly  strange  to 
democratic  New  Hampshire,  where  everybody 
is  in  theory  the  equal  of  everybody  else,  and 


266      GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

being  often  an  extreme  individualist,  likes  to 
work  each  in  his  own  way.  The  Commodore's 
system  was  unpopular,  for  the  men  thought  at 
first  that  it  threatened  their  independence.  "The 
spirit  of  '76"  was  invoked  by  more  than  one, 
but  fortunately  the  wiser  men  came  to  under 
stand  the  new  method  and  averted  the  possible 
war. 

The  Commodore's  delight  in  a  contest  showed 
itself  as  he  put  two  gangs  at  the  same  task, 
either  within  sight  of  each  other  or  on  different 
farms.  He  would  compare  results  and  grill  the 
slower  gang,  or  quite  as  likely  both  of  them. 
They  soon  learned  to  recognize  his  humor,  and 
make  spirited  replies,  which  would  draw  from 
him  a  chuckle  as  he  left.  It  must  be  admitted, 
however,  that  the  Commodore  was  at  times 
unreasonable  in  his  demand  for  quick  results. 
He  seemed  to  have  forgotten  that  he  was  not 
still  on  shipboard  where  the  number  of  men  who 
may  be  applied  to  a  piece  of  work  is  to  be 
counted  by  hundreds  instead  of  tens,  and  where 
the  ordinary  operations  can  be  both  begun  and 
finished  in  a  day.  Thus  when  he  was  still  very 
new  at  farming,  he  grew  excited  and  seemingly 
angry  because,  with  the  prospect  of  rain  the 


THE   SAILOR-FARMER  267 

following  day,  ten  acres  of  hay  cut  in  the  morn 
ing  should  not  be  in  the  barn  that  night.  His 
words  were  rather  sharp,  and  the  answer  they 
called  forth  was  uncompromising  and  plain,  al 
most  to  the  point  of  bluntness.  Whereupon  the 
little  petulance  vanished  in  a  moment,  and  the 
Commodore  began  laughing  over  an  incident  of 
the  day  before,  a  chase  the  broncos  Sandy  and 
Dago  had  given  him  when  they  escaped  with 
saddle  and  bridle  plunging  into  the  depths  of  a 
thicket. 

The  Commodore's  whim  of  making  a  place 
look  shipshape  occasionally  caused  trouble. 
When  he  had  purchased  and  begun  work  on  a 
farm,  he  wanted  at  once  to  clear  it  of  stones  and 
brush.  After  the  brush  had  been  cut  and  gath 
ered  in  a  pile,  he  had  the  greatest  liking  for  set 
ting  it  on  fire  and  thus  completing  the  work. 
As  there  was  danger  that  a  fire  started  in  this 
way  during  a  dry  season  might  get  from  under 
control  and  rushing  through  the  underbrush 
and  woods  do  great  damage,  the  superintendent 
often  had  reason  to  watch  with  anxiety  the 
movements  of  his  chief.  An  incident  of  this  kind 
occurred  on  the  Dudley  farm  to  the  east,  where, 
in  clearing,  the  men  had  collected  an  immense 


268       GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

pile  of  brush.  One  morning  when  the  superin 
tendent  was  working  on  the  Highland  farm  to 
the  northwest  he  noticed  smoke  and  he  guessed 
what  it  meant  even  before  he  saw  Miss  Isabel, 
then  fourteen  years  old,  come  tearing  along  on 
her  pony;  she  had  come  from  the  other  farm, 
four  miles  distant  up  hill  and  down,  all  the  way 
at  a  white  heat.  "The  Dudley  place  is  all  on 
fire,"  she  exclaimed.  "Father  says  get  all  the 
men  you  can  and  come  at  once."  The  forces 
had  soon  joined,  and  for  the  rest  of  the  day  were 
fighting  fire,  the  Commodore  taking  an  active 
part.  The  adventure  may  have  satisfied  for  a 
while  his  passion  for  brush-burning;  but  here 
after  when  he  was  known  to  be  near,  a  brush 
pile  was  never  left  without  a  trench  being 
ploughed  around  the  field. 

In  the  first  chapter  mention  was  made  of 
Perkins's  early  love  for  horses.  In  later  life 
nothing  connected  with  farming  gave  him 
greater  pleasure.  Before  he  had  retired  from 
the  navy,  he  had  purchased  Montrose,  a  stal 
lion  that  showed  speed.  This  in  1894  made  his 
best  time,  which  was  2.265.  In  1895,  Thetis, 
a  bay  mare  raised  on  his  farm,  took  the  track 
and  won  the  prize  —  a  trotting  sulky  —  offered 


THE  SAILOR-FARMER  269 

by  Mr.  John  B.  Clarke  for  the  fastest  horse 
raised  in  New  Hampshire.  Her  record  at  that 
time  was  2.i6J;  later  she  made  2.14^.  Once  on 
a  mere  trial  heat  she  bettered  her  record  by  six 
seconds.  Another  of  his  horses,  Maple  Valley, 
a  gelding,  trotted  a  mile  in  2.8f ,  his  official  time 
being  2.i2|.  Thetis  and  Maple  Valley  made  a 
superb  team  and  were  the  Commodore's  favor 
ite  horses.  The  Commodore  did  not  game 
on  the  results  of  the  race  track,  but  his  horses 
were  an  expensive  luxury.  However,  the  plea 
sure  of  driving  a  beautiful  team  and  the 
proud  satisfaction  of  having  raised  the  fastest 
horse  were  such  as  have  no  relation  to  dol 
lars. 

In  raising  cattle  and  sheep  he  was  more  prac 
tical.  When  his  nephew  Roger  Foster,  who  was 
with  him  a  great  deal  on  the  farm,  seconded  by 
Mr.  Walker,  urged  that  this  kind  of  stock- 
raising  should  be  tried  and  pointed  to  the  possi 
ble  profits,  he  gave  his  consent,  but  insisted 
that  they  should  keep  a  strict  account  and  be 
able  to  show  a  gain.  In  his  last  year  the  Com 
modore  had  on  his  several  farms  60  horses,  1 10 
cattle,  and  350  sheep. 

The  Commodore  had  seen  many  a  good  horse 


270      GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

needlessly  lost  because  of  ill-treatment  or  some 
slight  ailment,  and  it  became  one  of  his  many 
interests  to  take  such  animals  and  with  the  help 
of  a  young  veterinarian  make  good  horses  of 
them.  Thus  he  made  several  purchases  from  the 
farmers  roundabout  of  broken-down  horses  that 
looked  promising,  giving  whatever  was  a  fair 
price.  While  he  failed  in  some  cases,  he  suc 
ceeded  in  enough  others  so  that  he  lost  no 
money.  It  was  another  of  his  games  in  farm 
ing,  trying  to  do  what  the  other  men  could 
not  do. 

A  capital  instance  of  this,  even  though  it 
ended  in  failure,  was  that  of  a  horse  offered  him 
by  Mark  Ellenwood,  a  well-known  character  of 
an  adjoining  town. 

Mr.  Roger  Foster  returned  one  day  with  news 
that  Mark  had  a  horse,  weighing  1400  pounds, 
apparently  sound  in  every  particular,  which  he 
would  sell  for  $50.  The  price,  of  course,  aroused 
suspicion,  and  the  question  immediately  asked 
was,  what  was  wrong  with  him.  Roger  replied 
by  repeating  his  first  statement  that  apparently 
he  was  sound  in  every  respect,  and  added  that 
Mark  had  suggested  they  take  the  horse  and 
try  him  for  a  few  days.  The  proposal  looked 


THE  SAILOR-FARMER  271 

harmless,  and  the  Commodore  told  Roger  to  go 
and  get  the  horse.  Accordingly  next  morning 
Roger  appeared  at  the  Winnepocket  farm  with 
Prince,  the  new  horse. 

The  Commodore  subjected  him  to  a  sharp 
scrutiny.  "Splendid-looking  animal,"  was  his 
opinion,  and  turning  to  Walker  asked  what  he 
thought  of  him. 

Mr.  Walker,  not  easily  carried  away  by  en 
thusiasm  and  true  to  the  New  England  tradi 
tion  of  thinking  before  speaking,  examined  the 
horse  without  a  word.  Finally  he  scratched  his 
head,  "I  declare,  I  can't  see  anything  the  matter 
with  him.  Really  a  good-looking  animal  —  no 
bunches,  not  a  pimple  on  his  body.  I  see  he 
is  n't  shod  behind.  I  wonder  what  is  the  reason 
of  that." 

"O,  I  don't  know,"  said  Roger,  "except  that 
they  haven't  been  using  him  for  a  while.  Let's 
have  him  shod  and  try  him.  This  looks  to  me 
like  great  luck." 

"All  right,"  replied  Walker,  "we'll  go  ahead 
and  try  him";  adding,  however,  with  some  ob 
stinacy,  "you'll  find  something  is  the  matter. 
He'd  be  worth  $50,  and  four  times  $50,  if  there 
wasn't  something  wrong." 


272      GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

Walker  suspected  that  they  would  find  the 
animal  did  not  pull,  and  after  shoeing  him  pro 
ceeded  to  put  him  to  the  test.  Hitching  him  to 
the  trunk  of  an  old  apple  tree,  he  began  with, 
"Get  up,  Prince."  The  horse  started  up,  but,  of 
course,  without  result;  then  gathering  himself 
together  and  using  his  entire  weight  gave  such  a 
long  and  determined  pull  that  the  traces  strained 
and  the  tree  trembled. 

Now  a  horse  with  little  spirit  will  never  pull 
twice  on  a  thing  that  does  not  yield.  There  was 
no  question  but  that  Prince  had  pulled,  and 
Walker  was  discredited  by  his  own  theory.  He 
was  puzzled,  and  admitted  it.  "I  can't  see  any 
thing  the  matter  with  him.  He  is  a  magnificent 
horse.  Let's  hitch  him  to  the  drag  with  the 
large  bay  mare  and  haul  away  some  of  the 
boulders  in  the  pasture." 

Prince  started  off  and  all  went  beautifully 
until  he  began  to  kick.  A  touch  of  the  whip  had 
no  effect.  Kick,  kick,  kick!  He  kicked  the  drag, 
he  kicked  the  harness  off,  and  finally  he  kicked 
himself  free  from  the  other  horse  —  to  the  great 
relief  of  Roger  Foster  and  Walker,  for  they  had 
feared  the  bay  mare  would  be  killed.  That 
was  sufficient;  they  understood  why  the  price 


THE  SAILOR-FARMER  273 

was  low,  and  they  decided  to  take  Prince  to  the 
stable. 

At  this  moment  the  Commodore,  who  had 
been  away,  reappeared.  "Let's  see  the  new 
horse.  Splendid-looking  animal!  How  does  he 
go?" 

The  story  of  the  recent  performance  only 
amused  him.  "O,  pshaw,  Walker,  you  don't 
know  anything  about  driving  horses.  Hitch 
up  Prince  and  let  some  of  the  horse-boys  drive 
him.  Here,  Mike,  go  up  the  hill  with  this  horse 
and  bring  down  a  load  of  hay.  D d  fine- 
looking  horse!  You  don't  know  how  to  manage 
a  horse,  Walker,  or  you'd  be  able  to  drive  him." 

Prince  went  up  the  hill  all  right,  as  Mike  after 
wards  related,  and  on  being  hitched  to  the  hay- 
cart  drew  it  with  the  greatest  ease  until  he  got 
over  the  brow  of  the  hill  and  the  load  pressed  on 
him  from  behind.  Then  he  began  to  kick.  There 
was  nothing  to  resist  his  blows  except  the  soft 
hay  and  an  occasional  slat.  Prince  seemed  sur 
prised,  but  still  he  kept  on.  Kick,  kick,  kick! 
Finally  he  kicked  himself  loose,  and  with  the 
remnants  of  the  harness  bunched  around  his 
shoulders  he  stalked  down  the  hill  and  to  the 
barn,  Mike  following  at  a  respectful  distance. 


274      GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

The  Commodore,  who  had  become  impatient 
at  the  delay,  was  nevertheless  in  position  to 
review  the  solemn  procession  as  it  passed. 
"Where's  the  load  of  hay,  Mike,  I  sent  you  for? 
Don't  any  of  you  know  how  to  drive  a  horse? 
D d  good-looking  animal!" 

Mark  Eflenwood,  the  owner  of  the  horse,  it 
seems,  had  intended  to  see  this  fun.  Knowing 
that  the  Commodore  was  having  work  done  at 
the  Oakland  farm,  which  was  three  miles  nearer 
his  own  place,  he  had  supposed  that  as  a  matter 
of  course  Roger  Foster  would  take  him  there  to 
try  him.  And  he  had  dropped  his  work,  and  going 
to  the  Oakland  farm,  had  lain  in  ambush  a  good 
part  of  the  morning,  waiting  in  vain  for  one  of 
Prince's  inimitable  performances. 

The  determined  Commodore,  however,  was 
not  ready  to  admit  that  the  case  of  Prince  was 
beyond  hope.  He  still  had  a  man  in  reserve,  a 
horse-trainer  by  the  name  of  Brown,  who,  in  the 
interests  of  his  employer,  one  of  the  best-known 
horse-dealers  in  Boston,  chanced  that  day  to  be 
at  Webster. 

Brown  promised  to  try  his  luck  that  after 
noon,  and  every  man  who  was  not  positively 
held  by  duties  elsewhere  found  it  convenient  to 


THE   SAILOR-FARMER  275 

be  near.  It  is  said  that  a  horse  at  once  feels  the 
touch  of  the  master.  Brown  seemed  certainly 
to  know  just  what  was  to  be  done,  and  how  to  do 
it.  He  hitched  Prince  singly  in  a  wagon.  He 
occasionally  spoke  in  a  low  voice  to  the  horse 
and  patted  him.  The  deftness  of  his  move 
ments  and  the  confidence  in  his  manner  awak 
ened  admiration  of  the  spectators.  All  was 
anticipation.  Prince  took  two  steps;  then  some 
thing  irritated  him  and  he  forgot  about  the 
master.  Kick,  kick!  One  shaft  was  broken.  Next 
he  lay  down  and  broke  the  other,  all  the  while, 
even  when  down  and  on  his  side,  continuing  to 
kick.  Finally  he  got  so  thoroughly  wound  up 
in  the  tangled  harness  that  he  could  not  move 
his  legs  more. 

"We've  stopped  him  kicking  for  once,"  ob 
served  the  Commodore  with  a  chuckle  that 
caused  even  the  discomfited  Brown  to  join  in 
the  general  laugh.  " That's  a  small  morsel  of 
consolation.  But  see  the  spirit  in  his  eye. 

D d  fine  animal.  I  hate  to  give  him  up 

merely  because  we  can't  manage  him.  But  I 
guess,  Roger,  you'd  better  take  him  back.  And 
be  sure  to  thank  Mark  for  letting  us  try  him." 

The  Commodore,  as  in  earlier  years,  took  a 


276      GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

keen  interest  in  the  pets  about  the  house.  Jimmy 
and  Foxy  (fox  terriers)  and  Tony  (a  bull  terrier) 
made  a  great  team,  and  collectively  would  not 
refuse  battle  with  the  biggest  dog  in  the  neigh 
borhood.  On  the  roads  through  the  woods  they 
afforded  unfailing  interest.  Once  they  treed  a 
wild  cat,  and  they  had  many  a  fierce  battle  with 
the  large  woodchucks  overtaken  away  from  their 
holes.  These  excitements  the  Commodore  would 
enjoy  like  a  small  boy. 

Tony  was  also  the  name  of  a  parrot,  a  present 
of  Admiral  Farquhar  as  he  returned  from  a 
cruise  on  the  Trenton.  Mrs.  Perkins  relates  that 
one  day,  while  the  family  were  standing  near, 
Tony  flew  to  a  thicket  not  far  distant.  The 
Commodore,  Miss  Isabel,  and  four  or  five  others 
went  at  once  in  search,  but  could  not  find  him. 
Night  was  approaching.  The  Commodore  of 
fered  a  substantial  reward  and  sent  out  the  farm 
hands,  but  with  no  success.  During  the  night 
there  was  a  heavy  thunderstorm.  Mrs.  Perkins 
woke  up  to  find  the  Commodore  pacing  the 
floor  and  rubbing  the  palms  of  his  hands  in  keen 
distress.  "I  can't  sleep.  Poor  Tony  is  out  in 
the  storm,"  was  his  remark.  Three  days  later, 
when  all  hope  for  Tony  had  been  abandoned,  a 


THE  SAILOR-FARMER  277 

neighbor  brought  him  in.  The  farmer,  on  passing 
through  a  lonely  wood  in  the  dusk  of  the  even 
ing,  had  been  startled  by  hearing  a  strange 
unearthly  voice  speaking  from  empty  space, 
"Call  the  dogs,"  following  the  words  with  mani 
acal  laughter.  The  man,  not  being  accustomed 
to  act  on  impulse,  waited  a  moment  before  run 
ning  and  discovered  the  speaker.  He  rescued 
the  parrot  and  was  bitten  for  his  pains. 

The  stories  of  Commodore  Perkins's  kindness 
to  the  poor  people  of  Webster  and  to  many  a 
stranded  seaman  of  Boston  are  innumerable. 
At  the  beginning,  the  people  of  Webster  did  not 
understand  him.  They  had  a  prejudice  against 
him  because  he  had  money  and  spent  only  a 
third  of  the  year  at  Webster;  and  a  few  thought 
he  was  rough  and  autocratic.  Gradually,  how 
ever,  these  feelings  changed.  James  Powers,  a 
man  of  shrewdness  and  discernment,  who  knew 
him  long  and  intimately  as  his  horse-trainer, 
tells  of  riding  with  the  Commodore  when  he  was 
making  the  rounds  of  the  farms. 

"I've  too  many  men,"  said  the  Commodore. 
"I  am  going  to  lay  off  half  of  them." 

Powers  knew  that  from  the  standpoint  of 
practical  farming  the  Commodore  was  right. 


278       GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

But  he  also  knew  that  the  Commodore  would 
never  lay  them  off  unless  they  had  other  work. 
Later,  while  driving  through  the  village  of  Web 
ster,  they  saw  half  a  dozen  men  lounging  before 
the  store. 

"Do  you  need  any  more  help?"  was  their  in 
quiry.  "We've  got  in  our  hay  and  should  be 
glad  to  work  for  you." 

"I  don't  know  what  there  is  to  do,  but  per 
haps  there  may  be  some  land  to  be  cleared," 
replied  the  Commodore.  "Anyway,  report 
early  to-morrow  morning  to  Mr.  Walker  at  the 
Winnepocket  farm;  he  will  have  some  work 
for  you." 

He  believed  in  giving  every  man  a  chance. 
In  an  abjectly  poor  young  man  who  had  fits,  the 
Commodore  became  actively  interested,  and 
just  as  he  worked  over  sick  horses  he  had  a  phy 
sician  take  up  the  case  that  he  might  reclaim 
the  youth  and  make  of  him  a  well  and  useful 
citizen.  He  would  even  send  the  unemployed 
up  from  Boston,  not  infrequently  embarrass 
ing  Miss  Susan,  to  whom  when  absent  he  in 
trusted  many  of  his  affairs.  His  touchstone  was, 
"Does  the  man  lie,  does  he  steal?  If  he  does  n't, 
there's  hope  for  him." 


THE  SAILOR-FARMER  279 

A  New  Hampshire  lad  of  seventeen  in  his  em 
ploy  raised  a  pay  check  from  $18  to  $81.  The 
check  was  paid  by  the  bank,  but  the  fraud  was 
detected  later  when  the  account  would  not  bal 
ance.  The  lad  had  been  led  to  the  wrongdoing 
by  bad  companions,  and  not  being  experienced 
in  vice,  broke  down  on  being  questioned  and 
confessed.  Commodore  Perkins  was  now  in 
clined  to  drop  the  matter,  but  the  bank  officials 
regarded  the  offense  as  serious  and  demanded 
a  penalty  that  should  stand  as  a  warning  to 
other  weak  youths.  As  a  result  the  lad  was  sent 
to  jail  for  one  year.  The  Commodore  visited  him 
during  his  confinement,  encouraging  him  to  fix 
his  mind  on  the  time  when  he  should  again  be 
free.  He  promised  him  employment,  and  true 
to  his  word  sought  the  lad  immediately  on  his 
release  and  brought  him  to  the  farm.  As  long  as 
the  Commodore  lived,  the  young  man  continued 
in  his  employ,  scrupulously  honest  and  fully 
deserving  of  respect. 

Dorcas  E was  an  elderly  woman,  untidy 

in  appearance  and  decidedly  eccentric,  who 
lived  with  a  sister  and  invalid  brother,  next  to 
the  Highland  farm.  The  Commodore  knew  her 
but  slightly,  but  had  in  little  ways  been  kind  to 


28o      GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

her.  One  evening  she  came  to  "The  Box"  and 
excitedly  asked  to  see  him.  The  family  hap 
pened  to  be  at  dinner,  which  Mrs.  Perkins 
always  made  a  rather  formal  occasion.  The 
Commodore,  however,  having  heard  the  request 
to  see  him,  came  out  before  the  message  was 
brought.  Pat  McNamara,  who  had  charge  of 
the  stable,  describes  what  followed  as  the  worst 
"tongue-lashing"  he  ever  listened  to.  The  bur 
den  of  Dorcas's  grievance  proved  to  be  the  ac 
tions  of  one  of  the  Commodore's  colts,  which 
had  inconsiderately  jumped  over  the  stone  wall 
separating  the  two  farms.  Inspired  by  this  she 
let  forth  a  torrent  of  denunciation  that  pro 
mised  to  sweep  away  the  Commodore  and  every 
other  man  who,  just  because  he  wore  a  little  bet 
ter  clothes  than  his  neighbors,  put  on  airs  and 
let  his  horses  run  all  over  their  farms.  The  Com 
modore  listened  with  the  utmost  respect,  and 
after  expressing  his  deep  regret  directed  Pat  at 
once  to  go  up  to  Dorcas's  and  repair  all  damages. 
Next  day  there  was  a  twinkle  in  his  eye,  when 
in  making  the  rounds  of  the  farms  he  stopped  at 
Dorcas's  and  solicitously  inquired  after  her 
health.  A  few  days  later  he  left  a  substantial 
present  for  her,  some  much-needed  clothing, 


THE  SAILOR-FARMER  281 

and  from  that  time  on  he  kept  a  watchful  eye 
out  for  her  welfare,  making  her  frequent  pres 
ents.  It  is  no  wonder  that  the  people  of  Web 
ster  commonly  addressed  him  as  George,  and 
quite  forgetting  their  prejudices  looked  forward 
eagerly,  when  he  had  been  away  several  months, 
to  his  return. 

The  Commodore  had  little  knowledge  of  po 
litics  and  less  inclination  to  meddle  in  them.  He 
was  led,  however,  to  make  an  inquiry  because 
of  his  desire  to  help  Mr.  Roger  Foster  to  a  seat 
in  the  State  Legislature.  There  is  a  delightful 
simplicity,  as  the  story  is  told,  in  his  seeking  ad 
vice  as  to  whether  he  should  join  the  Republi 
can  or  the  Democratic  party.  Not  long  after 
this  he  was  approached  by  a  group  of  men  of 
some  prominence  who  proposed  to  boom  him 
for  Governor.  No  one  could  help  being  flat 
tered  by  such  a  suggestion,  but  the  Commodore, 
on  talking  it  over  confidentially  with  a  member 
of  the  Legislature,  a  shrewd  farmer,  remarked 
as  he  finished,  "I  don't  think  I  want  anything 
of  it.  They  would  like  to  make  me  a  figurehead 
so  that  they  could  do  whatever  they  pleased. 
However,  if  they  got  me  elected  they  would 
change  their  minds." 


282       GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

Commonly  the  Perkins  family  would  go  to 
"The  Box"  about  the  first  of  May,  which  was 
often  before  the  ice  had  broken  up  in  Winne- 
pocket,  and  after  an  absence  of  two  months  or 
more  at  Newport  would  resume  their  stay  at 
Webster,  remaining  until  the  last  of  October 
or  November.  The  winter  home  was  in  Boston 
at  123  Commonwealth  Avenue.  Here  the  Com 
modore  established  a  daily  routine  that  he 
adhered  to  with  military  faithfulness.  In  the 
morning  after  breakfast  he  attended  to  corres 
pondence,  perused  the  newspaper,  and  was  likely 
to  follow  it  with  something  substantial  in  read 
ing,  for  his  taste  was  especially  for  memoirs,  biog 
raphy,  and  history.  After  lunch  he  might  spend 
two  hours  at  one  of  the  clubs  of  which  he  was  a 
member,  —  Somerset,  Union,  or  Country,  — 
and  at  three  o'clock  go  for  a  drive.  In  driving 
it  might  be  Miss  Isabel  who  was  with  him;  fre 
quently  it  was  Professor  Charles  S.  Sargent,  of 
Harvard  (who  in  the  Civil  War  had  also  seen 
service  at  New  Orleans  and  Mobile  Bay,  and  it 
was  there  that  their  friendship  had  begun);  or 
it  might  be  Admiral  Luce,  Admiral  Belknap,  or 
any  one  of  a  score  of  friends. 

Mr.  James  Powers  tells  a  characteristic  inci- 


THE  SAILOR-FARMER  283 

dent  of  one  of  these  drives.  "Whip  up  the 
horses,"  said  the  Commodore;  "there's  an  old 
sailor  ahead  and  I  know  he'll  want  something 
of  me."  When  they  had  caught  up  with  the 
dangerous  man,  however,  the  Commodore  gave 
word  to  stop,  and  with  a  few  swift  questions  in 
quired  into  the  sailor's  welfare,  doing  it  with 
a  passing  jest  that  made  the  old  salt's  face 
brighten,  in  spite  of  the  hard  luck  that  had  been 
dogging  him  for  some  weeks.  Before  the  Com 
modore  had  left  him  he  slipped  a  five-dollar  note 
into  his  hand.  "Take  this  and  without  utter 
ing  a  word  promise  that  you'll  be  grateful  all 
the  rest  of  your  life.  Now  don't  you  speak  a 
single  word  or  I  '11  have  you  put  in  irons.  Good 
bye." 

The  Commodore  would  bring  his  best  horses 
up  from  "The  Box,"  and  there  was  nothing  he 
showed  keener  relish  for  than  a  little  trial  of 
speed  when  the  snow  had  come  and  several  of 
his  friends  appeared  with  their  sleighs.  In 
Thetis,  Maple  Valley,  Myopia,  Diversion,  and 
Blazeaway,  he  had  what  would  be  the  joy  of  any 
lover  of  horses.  He  would  return  from  his  driv 
ing  all  aglow  and  relate  with  boyish  glee  how 
he  had  left  this  or  that  rival  behind. 


284       GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

The  Perkins  family,  even  before  the  Commo 
dore's  retirement,  spent  their  summers  in  New 
port,  occupying  the  De  Rham  Cottage.  The 
Commodore  became  a  favorite  at  the  clubs  and 
in  the  homes  because,  as  Professor  Sargent  says, 
"He  had  wonderful  geniality  and  could  put 
everybody  into  good  humor."  He  was  much 
sought  after,  but  he  went  out  comparatively 
little,  for  both  he  and  Mrs.  Perkins  preferred  the 
quiet  of  their  own  home  to  a  constant  round  of 
social  gayety.  His  life  had  almost  as  much  regu 
larity  as  in  Boston.  Driving  was  still  his  chief 
recreation,  and  it  is  said  that  he  had  the  finest 
horses  at  Newport.  This  brought  him  no  small 
satisfaction.  However,  he  often  longed  for  Web 
ster  and  its  simple  life.  During  the  years  when 
he  went  for  the  summer  to  Newport,  he  would 
pass  the  spring  and  autumn  at  "The  Box";  also 
he  would  run  up  for  brief  stays  at  frequent  in 
tervals  during  the  months  between.  The  hills  of 
New  Hampshire  were  his  first  love  and  he  never 
forgot  them. 

In  Miss  Isabel  the  Commodore  had  ever  a  good 
comrade>  She  inherited  his  love  for  horses  and 
all  outdoor  life.  Further,  they  were  such  good 
chums  that  she  shared  with  him  the  happy  little 


THE  SAILOR-FARMER  285 

incidents  connected  with  her  girl  friends.  He 
took  great  interest  in  the  unfolding  of  woman 
hood,  and  was  still  the  devoted  father  after  her 
marriage  in  1897  to  Mr.  Larz  Anderson.  Mr. 
Anderson,  the  son  of  General  Nicholas  Ander 
son,  of  Cincinnati,  served  during  the  Spanish- 
American  War  in  the  Second  Army  Corps  with 
the  rank  of  captain.  Previously  he  had  spent 
several  years  in  the  diplomatic  service,  and  in 
President  Taft's  administration  he  was  made 
minister  to  Belgium  and  later  ambassador  to 
Japan. 

Commodore  Perkins  had  also  offered  his  serv 
ices  to  the  Government  at  the  beginning  of  the 
Spanish-American  War,  but  the  department  ad 
hered  to  its  general  policy  of  not  calling  the  re 
tired  officers  back  to  active  duty.  It  is  easy  to 
imagine  the  eager  interest  with  which  Perkins 
read  of  the  exploits  at  Manila  of  his  old  Acad 
emy  mate  and  fellow-fighter  at  New  Orleans, 
Commodore  George  Dewey.  It  is  also  easy  to 
imagine  the  feeling  of  sadness  as  he  thought 
that  he  was,  so  far  as  the  navy  was  concerned, 
superannuated  —  the  heaviest  cross  that  an  ac 
tive  spirit  has  to  bear. 

There  comes  now,  in  this  narrative  of  a  brave 


286      GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

life,  the  final  conflict,  when  without  weakness 
and  without  fear  he  completed  his  earthly  ca 
reer.  His  death  occurred  on  October  28,  1899. 
A  fortnight  previous,  October  14,  he  had  been  at 
a  brilliant  banquet  tendered  to  Admiral  Dewey 
by  the  Algonquin  Club,  where  he  was  one  of 
the  merriest  of  the  many  distinguished  guests; 
at  the  instance  of  Admiral  Dewey  he  had  made 
a  speech,  Governor  Wolcott  and  the  Admiral 
making  the  only  other  speeches. 

The  end  came  fortunately  without  a  long  ill 
ness.  He  was  at  his  home  in  Boston,  and  on 
Wednesday  afternoon  went  for  his  customary 
drive,  taking  Colonel  Schuyler  Crosby  with  him. 
Suddenly  his  hold  of  the  reins  loosened,  his 
head  sank,  and  he  began  to  breathe  heavily. 
Colonel  Crosby  took  him  home  and  summoned 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Larz  Anderson,  who  were  about 
to  leave  town.  The  Commodore's  illness  was 
due  to  a  valvular  affection  of  the  heart.  His  in 
tense  suffering  was  relieved  by  an  anaesthetic, 
and  when  he  roused  on  the  following  day  he 
seemed  better  so  that  some  hope  was  enter 
tained  for  his  recovery.  However,  he  recog 
nized  that  his  condition  was  very  serious,  and 
again  and  again  asked  the  doctor  how  his  pulse 


THE  SAILOR-FARMER  287 

was.  The  evasive  answers  did  not  satisfy  him, 
and  with  something  of  his  old-time  spirit  he  re 
joined,  "  Doctors  and  horse  jockies  are  all  the 
same.  You  can't  believe  anything  they  say." 
He  talked  cheerfully  with  Mrs.  Perkins,  who 
was  constantly  with  him,  and  made  evident  ef 
fort  that  his  illness  should  not  wear  on  her. 
When  Mrs.  Anderson  entered  the  room  he 
would  give  her  a  smile  of  welcome,  and  stretch 
out  his  hand,  but  after  she  had  sat  for  a  few 
minutes  beside  him  he  would  say,  "Baby  dear, 
you  mustn't  stay  up  here  with  me,  you'll  get 
tired."  And  then  he  would  look  satisfied  and 
grateful  as  she  kissed  him  and  assured  him  that 
she  loved  to  stay  with  him.  Among  his  last 
words  were  those  to  Colonel  Crosby,  "Well,  old 
fellow,  I  think  I've  furled  my  sails  for  the  last 
time."  The  old  weather-beaten  ship  was  creep 
ing  back  into  the  home  port. 

The  funeral  was  military  in  character,  and 
took  place  on  Tuesday,  October  31,  at  the  Ar 
lington  Street  Church.  The  pall-bearers  were 
Mr.  William  Bliss,  Admiral  Stephen  D.  Luce, 
Admiral  George  E.  Belknap,  General  John  C. 
Palfrey,  Colonel  Stephen  M.  Weld,  Colonel 
Schuyler  Crosby,  Mr.  Thomas  H.  Perkins, 


288       GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

Professor  Charles  S.  Sargent,  Mr.  Francis  Bart- 
lett,  Mr.  Samuel  Hoar,  Mr.  Edward  D.  Hayden, 
and  Mr.  Charles  A.  Williams.  His  remains  were 
interred  in  the  Forest  Hills  Cemetery,  Boston, 
and  the  grave  was  marked  by  a  large  boulder 
taken  from  the  farm  at  Webster. 


CHAPTER  X 

THE   MEASURE    OF   THE   MAN 

IT  is  hard  to  weigh  with  a  calm  and  unpreju 
diced  mind  the  value  of  a  life  which  one  has 
long  followed  with  devoted  interest.  The  author 
feels  this,  although  it  was  his  fortune  to  know 
Commodore  Perkins,  not  by  personal  contact, 
but  through  the  words  of  those  who  were  near 
est  to  him  and  through  his  home  letters,  unusually 
complete  and  well  preserved.  It  has  been  well- 
nigh  impossible  in  the  foregoing  pages  to  speak 
of  his  naval  service  without  the  greatest  enthu 
siasm,  yet  it  must  be  admitted  that  this  service 
in  magnitude  had  of  necessity  its  limitations. 
During  the  Civil  War  important  duty  was  as 
signed  largely  according  to  seniority,  and  Per 
kins's  youthfulness  thus  prevented  his  being 
given  a  command  of  much  greater  distinction. 
The  significant  fact  is  that  whatever  duty  was 
assigned  to  him  he  did  well,  and  especially  in  the 
critical  moments  of  action  his  service  was  not 
less  than  brilliant.  While  he  was  only  one  fac 
tor  in  the  great  forces  that  brought  victory  at 


290      GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

New  Orleans  and  Mobile  Bay,  had  he  failed  the 
effect  on  the  result  could  hardly  have  been  other 
than  disastrous. 

His  personality  was  ever  engaging,  but  no 
where  else  were  the  winsome  qualities  shown 
with  such  unfailing  clearness  and  strength  as  in 
the  home.  His  devotion  to  his  mother  and  to  his 
sister  Susan,  who  never  married,  to  his  brothers 
during  their  boyhood,  to  his  wife,  and  to  his 
daughter,  has  a  quality  that  cannot  fail  to  touch 
the  heart.  This  is  constantly  appearing  in  his 
letters,  certain  of  them  having  the  love  and  the 
spiritual  nature  of  prayer.  To  casual  acquaint 
ances  Commodore  Perkins  was  neither  religious 
nor  irreligious.  But  home  ever  had  for  him  an 
altar  at  which  he  worshiped. 

Another  element  in  his  engaging  personality 
was  his  unfailing  good  humor.  It  was  an  over 
flow  of  good  spirit  that  gave  many  the  impres 
sion  of  health,  perfect  and  constant.  His  gen 
iality  was  contagious.  His  flashing  gray  eye 
commanded  attention,  and  it  betrayed  the 
mirth  lurking  in  its  depths.  Miss  Perkins  says 
his  eye  was  like  their  mother's,  and  to  its  mag 
netism  attributes  in  large  part  "his  great  power 
over  all  animals:  fast  horses,  a  boatload  of  sail- 


THE  MEASURE  OF  THE  MAN       291 

ors,  or  a  roomful  of  ladies."  He  was  a  great 
mimic  without  the  slightest  elocutionary  touch. 
He  would  often  say  just  the  opposite  of  what  he 
meant,  with  a  boy's  spirit  of  play,  but  after 
drawing  out  a  quick  and  indignant  reply,  with 
his  chuckle  and  laugh  he  would  put  all  to  rights. 
There  never  was  cruelty  in  his  fun.  His  strong 
underlying  sympathy  prevented  that.  He  was 
the  friend  of  all,  no  matter  what  was  their  sta 
tion;  this  friendliness,  though  he  was  not  one  to 
talk  about  it,  they  felt  and  appreciated. 

His  charm  lay  further  in  his  versatility  and 
constant  activity.  Even  at  Aspinwall  (Colon) 
or  on  the  African  coast,  where  duty  for  so  many 
officers  was  scarcely  less  than  a  living  death,  he 
found  constant  diversion.  There  was  no  stagna 
tion  when  he  was  near.  On  retirement  from  the 
navy — when  so  many  officers  lapse  into  innocu 
ous  desuetude  —  he  turned  his  attention  to  farm 
ing  and  became  a  center  of  activity.  He  tried 
farming  of  the  hardest  kind  that  he  might  have 
more  to  overcome.  His  life  became  very  much 
like  that  of  an  English  country  gentleman;  he 
took  a  paternal  interest  in  the  welfare  of  his  la 
borers  and  poor  neighbors;  he  studied  the  details 
of  the  work  done  on  his  land;  he  bred  horses, 


292       GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

cattle,  and  sheep,  and  found  keen  delight  in  his 
racing-stable. 

Among  other  qualities  that  make  the  life  of 
Commodore  Perkins  worth  consideration  was 
his  faithfulness  to  duty.  This  was  shown  when 
as  midshipman  he  sailed  on  the  Cyane  and  the 
Release  and  as  the  first  lieutenant  on  the  Cayuga 
and  the  Pensacola,  as  well  as  during  the  later 
years  when  with  higher  rank  he  was  given  a  ship 
of  his  own.  He  writes  of  himself  in  the  Civil 
War  as  keeping  at  the  same  slight  weight  he  had 
at  the  Naval  Academy,  115  pounds;  he  was  still 
"Puck"  or  "Perk"  to  the  officers  who  had 
known  him  during  the  earlier  years.  Yet  he  was 
strong  and  well  made,  and  underwent  without 
difficulty  the  hardships  incident  to  duty  or  to 
a  hunting  expedition  in  the  wilds.  The  men  who 
served  under  him  were  deeply  impressed  by  his 
courage,  and  gave  him  not  only  prompt  obe 
dience,  but  the  full  measure  of  confidence  such 
as  the  greatest  leaders  have  excited.  They  were 
willing  to  follow  him  into  any  danger  without 
flinching.  He  was  seldom  severe,  yet  he  was 
quick  to  detect  the  man  who  was  shirking  and 
treated  him  with  but  small  tolerance.  He  was 
clear  and  positive  in  his  orders,  and  in  return 


THE  MEASURE  OF  THE  MAN       293 

obtained  service  marked  by  exactness  and  pre 
cision.  The  loyalty  of  the  men  lightened  the 
officer's  work,  and  there  was  reason  for  the  pride 
and  satisfaction  with  which  he  often  spoke  of  his 
detail  or  ship. 

Well  combined  with  his  careful  performance 
of  duty  in  the  days  of  preparation  and  waiting, 
there  stands  his  absolute  fearlessness  at  the 
time  of  critical  action,  and  it  was  for  his  bravery 
that  he  was  recognized  throughout  the  service. 
He  is  to  be  classed  with  Gushing  in  his  coolness 
at  the  all-important  moment,  when  he  would 
meet  the  crisis  with  the  same  zest  and  splendid 
nerve  that  a  good  oarsman  might  enter  a  race. 
He  showed  as  little  anxiety  connected  with  his 
personal  safety  or  hesitation  occasioned  by 
doubt  of  the  result  as  did  the  renowned  Nelson. 
Running  the  forts  at  New  Orleans,  walking  un 
armed  with  Captain  Bailey  through  the  angry 
mob  in  that  city,  fighting  the  Confederate  bat 
teries  with  the  New  London^  hanging  to  the 
dread  Tennessee  as  he  pounded  away  at  her 
stern  —  all  were  a  game  to  him,  and  his  own 
strength  increased  according  to  the  strength  of 
his  opponent.  Thus,  although  Perkins  was  not 
a  great  student  of  the  science  of  war,  and  it  is 


294      GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

doubtful  whether  if  he  had  had  the  opportunity 
he  would  have  developed  into  a  strategist,  he 
was  eminently  a  good  fighting  captain.  On  this 
point  we  have  Farragut's  own  words,  which  are 
the  more  impressive  because  commonly  he  was 
so  sparing  in  his  commendation.  Such  praise 
was  scarcely  less  than  a  brevet  and  we  make  no 
apology  for  again  quoting  it:  "No  braver  man 
ever  trod  a  ship's  deck; .  .  .  his  work  in  the 
Chickasaw  did  more  to  capture  the  Tennessee 
than  all  the  guns  of  the  fleet  put  together." 

It  is  delightful  to  find  coupled  with  his  bravery 
great  modesty.  When  the  fleet  had  passed  the 
forts  below  New  Orleans,  the  publishing  of  his 
letter  to  the  home  folks  that  so  vividly  described 
the  action  caused  him  a  painful  shrinking  and 
annoyance  that  is  to  us  amusing.  He  was  ever 
impatient  on  hearing  his  own  praise,  and  prob 
ably  for  this  reason  was  little  given  to  reminis 
cing.  When  shortly  before  his  retirement  Miss 
Perkins  determined  to  collect  his  letters  and  to 
print  them  for  private  circulation  at  her  own 
expense,  she  received  no  encouragement.  The 
aged  mother,  whom  the  Commodore  so  much 
resembled,  thought  it  "not  proper  or  modest." 
He  heartily  agreed  with  this  sentiment,  and 


THE  MEASURE  OF  THE  MAN       295 

further  protested  that  it  was  a  great  nuisance 
when  Miss  Susan  asked  that  he  explain  refer 
ences  and  allusions  in  his  letters  or  in  other  ways 
add  to  her  material.  The  utmost  he  could  do 
was  to  treat  with  a  kindly  tolerance  her  "fool 
ishness,"  which  became  the  subject  of  many  a 
good-natured  jest. 

Such  a  man  it  is  a  delight  for  posterity  to 
honor.  It  is  appropriate  that  a  bronze  statue  of 
Commodore  Perkins  should  have  been  placed 
in  the  grounds  of  the  State  House  at  Concord, 
ten  miles  from  his  birthplace.  It  is  the  work  of 
the  eminent  sculptor,  Daniel  Chester  French, 
and  represents  the  officer  during  his  later  years, 
in  full  uniform,  standing  resolute  and  fearless  in 
the  service  of  his  country.  And  it  is  fitting  that 
a  replica  of  this  noble  statue  should  be  at  the 
United  States  Naval  Academy,  where  it  has 
been  placed  in  Bancroft  Hall,  the  midshipmen's 
quarters,  on  the  broad  balcony  looking  out  upon 
Chesapeake  Bay.  The  moment  the  statue  at 
the  Academy  was  unveiled,  May  29,  1911,  a  long 
black  warship  lying  off  the  sea  wall  a  few  hun 
dred  yards  distant  began  firing  a  salute.  It  was 
the  new  torpedo-boat  destroyer  Perkins.  In  thus 
naming  her,  the  grateful  Government  conferred 


296      GEORGE  HAMILTON  PERKINS 

one  of  the  highest  honors  it  could  bestow  on  the 
memory  of  George  Hamilton  Perkins.  It  placed 
him  on  the  roll  of  our  most  distinguished  naval 
heroes  fo'r  whom  torpedo  boats  and  torpedo-boat 
destroyers  have  been  named.  It  is  easy  to  imagine 
Perkins's  utter  surprise  had  he  been  told  that 
his  name  was  thus  to  be  linked  with  that  of  Far- 
ragut  and  Porter,  as  well  as  Gushing,  Foote, 
Flusser,  Morris,  Smith,  and  Worden,  of  the  Civil 
War;  Hull,  Lawrence,  Macdonough,  and  Perry, 
of  the  War  of  1812;  and  Barry,  Biddle,  and  Paul 
Jones,  of  the  Revolution. 


THE    END 


INDEX 


INDEX 


Accessory  Transit  Co.,  37,  51- 

Alice,  146. 

Anderson,  Larz,  285. 
Anderson,    Mrs.    Larz,    child 

hood,    218;    travel,    254;    at 

Webster,    264  /.;    marriage, 

285. 

Arkansas,  137-40. 
Armstrong,  Captain,  77,  82,  84, 

104. 
Aspinwall, 


Bailey,  Theodorus,  battle  of 
New  Orleans,  in,  112,  120; 
demands  the  surrender  of 
New  Orleans,  121-28;  letter 
on  Perkins's  wedding,  218. 

Banks,  General,  149,  152,  ice. 

Birkey,  Henry  W,  161. 

Blockade  duty,  165  ff. 

Bowen,  Captain,  87-89. 

Bowlin,  James  B.,  63-66. 

Brooklyn,  battle  of  New  Or 
leans,  1  1  6;  battle  of  Mobile 
Bay,  179-87- 

Buchanan,  Admiral,  building 
ships,  142,  145;  battle  of  Mo 
bile  Bay,  188-92;  wounded, 
192. 

Butler,  Benjamin,  friend  of 
Captain  George,  4;  embark 
ing  troops,  109,  114;  expected 
at  New  Orleans,  123;  at  New 
Orleans, 


Cable,  George  W.,  124. 
California  gold-seekers,  42. 
Cape  Haytien,  56,  57. 


Chalmette  batteries,  120,  121. 
Chalmette  regiment,  119. 
Chickasaw,  ij^ff- 
Circassian,  170,  171. 
Craven,  T.   A.  M.,    180,    184, 

194. 

Craven,  Thomas  T.,  28-33. 
Crosby,  Schuyler,  286,  287. 
Cuba,  146. 
Cyam,  38 /. 

Daniel  Wood,  214. 

Dewey,  George,  at  the  Naval 
Academy,  35;  battle  of  New 
Orleans,  117;  lighthouse  in 
spector,  219;  victory  at  Ma 
nila,  285;  at  the  Algonquin 
Club,  286. 

Eads,  James  B.,  173. 
Emery,  Benjamin,  4. 
Essex,  139,  140,  156,  157. 

Fairfax,  D.  M.,  134  /. 

Farragut,  David  G.,  eager  to  at 
tack  New  Orleans,  108-10; 
passes  Forts  Jackson  and  St. 
Philip,  115  /.;  plans  to  de 
stroy  the  Arkansas,  137;  com 
ment  on  the  accident  to  the 
New  London,  159;  battle  of 
Mobile  Bay,  172  /.;  praises 
Perkins,  205,  206. 

Foster,  Roger,  264,  269-81. 

Foster,  Mrs.  William  L.,  55,  71. 

Gaines,  Fort,  178,  195,  198. 
George,    Clara    Bartlett.     Sff 
Mrs.  H.  E.  Perkins. 


300 


INDEX 


George,  John  H.,  4. 
George,  Paul  R.,  4. 
Gov.  Moore,  117-19. 
Granger,  General,  179,  198, 

201. 

Granite  City,  166-68. 
Grant,  President,  248-53. 

Harriman,  Captain,  4. 
Harrison,    Captain,    118,    131, 

132,  134- 

Hartford,  battle  of  New  Or 
leans,  114-21;  battle  of  Mo 
bile  Bay,  180-91;  Perkins  in 
command,  253,  254. 

Hesseltine,  Lieutenant-Colonel, 
168. 

Higgins,  Colonel,  129. 

Ingomar,  196. 

Jackson,  Fort,  108  /. 
Jenkins,  T.  A.,   154,  195,  202, 

2O9,  212. 

Johnson,  Commander,  253. 
Johnston,  J.  D.,  192,  193. 
Jouett,  James  E.,  201,  207. 

Kennon,  Beverly,  119. 
Kibby,  88. 
Kirkland,  W.  A.,  210. 

Lackawanna,  battle  of  Mobile 
Bay,  187-89;  in  the  Pacific, 
212-17. 

Lamson,  Captain,  167. 

Laurens,  Captain,  100. 

LeRoy,  Captain,  193. 

Lindsay,  Mr.,  130. 

Lockwood,  Henry  H.,  19,  20. 

Louisiana,  113. 

Louis  Napoleon,  130. 

Lovell,  General,  121-28. 

McDonough,  Captain,  84-87. 

Mahan,  A.  T.,  163. 

M  anas  s  as,  113,  117,  118. 


Manhattan,    176,    179-81,    185, 

188,  189,  201. 
Mary  S  or  ley,  168-70,  177. 
Mather,  Increase,  2. 
Metacomet,  185,  207,  208. 
Midway  Islands,  214-17. 
Mississippi,  in,  115-17. 
Mobile  Bay,  battle  of,  172  /. 
Monongahela,     156,     158,     159, 

189. 

Morgan,  Fort,  178  ff. 
Morris,  Commodore,  147,  151, 

160. 
Mosher,  116. 

New  London,  153-59. 

New     Orleans,     battle    below, 

107 /. 

Nightingale,  87,  88. 
North  America,  154. 

Octorara,  179-85. 
Oneida,  144. 

Panama,  37 /. 

Paraguay,  63  /. 

Parker,  W.  G.,  57. 

Peaslee,  Charles  H.,  13. 

Penniman,  166. 

Pensacola,  battle  of  New  Or 
leans,  III,  115,  121 ;  Perkins 
her  executive  officer,  147  /. 

Perkins,  295. 

Perkins,  Frank,  plans  for,  164; 
death,  213. 

Perkins,  George  Hamilton,  an 
cestry,  1-4;  birth,  5;  early 
love  for  horses,  6;  in  Boston, 
8;  troubles  with  study,  9-11; 
appointed  to  the  Naval  Acad 
emy,  12-14;  life  at  tne  Acad 
emy,  16  ff.',  summer  practice 
cruises,  28-33;  target  prac 
tice,  32;  difficulties  at  the 
Academy,  34,  35;  in  Central 
America,  37  ff,\  duty  on  the 
Cyane,  38  /.;  at  Cape  Hay- 


INDEX 


301 


tien,  56,  57;  duty  on  the  Re 
lease,  57  ff.'y  early  religious 
attitude,  62;  in  Paraguay,  63- 
70;  hunting  tigers,  67-70;  on 
the  West  African  coast,  71  /.; 
promoted  to  passed  midship 
man,  71;  master,  71;  duty  on 
the  Sumter,  72  ff.\  adventure 
off  the  Settee  River,  93-96; 
up  the  Bonney  River,  99; 
commissioned  lieutenant,  106; 
duty  on  the  Cayuga,  107  ff.; 
passing  Forts  Jackson  and  St. 
Philip,  115^".;  facing  the  mob 
at  New  Orleans,  121-28; 
mentioned  for  gallantry,  132; 
duty  on  the  Pensacola,  147^".; 
made  lieutenant-commander, 
151;  commanding  the  New 
London,  153-59;  commanding 
the  Sciota,  160-71;  blockad 
ing  the  Texas  coast,  162-71; 
commanding  the  Chickasaw, 
173  ff.;  passing  Fort  Morgan, 
1 86;  engaging  the  Tennessee, 
188-94;  detached  from  the 
Chickasaw,  211;  duty  on  the 
Lackawanna,  212-17;  duty  at 
the  Boston  Navy  Yard,  217; 
marriage,  218;  made  com 
mander,  218;  commanding 
the  Relief,  218;  duty  as  light 
house  inspector,  219;  com 
manding  the  Ashuelot,  219  ff.; 
in  China,  22O/. ;  in  the  Philip 
pines,  229-32;  visiting  Siam, 
232-44;  with  General  Grant, 
248-53;  commanding  the 
Hartford,  253,  254;  leave  of 
absence,  254;  failing  health, 
255;  retired,  255;  made  com 
modore,  255;  the  game  of 
farming,  256  /.;  love  for 
horses,  268;  kindness  to  the 
poor,  277  ff.;  home  in  Boston, 
282;  in  Newport,  284;  fatal 
illness,  286;  funeral,  287;  char 


acterization,  289  ff.;  statue 
by  French,  295;  U.S.S.  Per 
kins,  named  for  him,  295. 

Perkins,  Mrs.  George  Hamilton, 
family,  217;  marriage,  218; 
daughter,  218;  travel,  254;  at 
"The  Box,']  260;  Tony  lost, 
276;  home  life,  284,  290. 

Perkins,  Hamilton,  home  life, 
61,  71;  enters  the  Naval 
Academy,  164. 

Perkins,  Hamilton  Eliot,  edu 
cation,  3;  judge  of  probate,  3; 
children,  5;  engages  in  African 
trade,  8;  returns  to  Hopkin- 
ton,  8. 

Perkins,  Mrs.  H.  E.,  ancestry, 
3,  4;  children,  5;  the  home 
school,  9-1 1 ;  pride  in  her  son, 
132;  extreme  family  modesty, 
294. 

Perkins,  Isabel.  See  Mrs.  Larz 
Anderson. 

Perkins,  Roger  Eliot,  2. 

Perkins,  Roger  Eliot,  influence 
of  brother,  61;  studies  medi 
cine,  164;  death,  213. 

Perkins,  Susan,  home  life,  71; 
present  from  Africa,  98;  as 
sisting  the  Commodore,  278; 
the  Commodore's  devotion, 
290;  edits  the  Commodore's 
letters,  294. 

Perkins,  William,  I. 

Philippines,  229-32. 

Phythian,  R.  E.,  35,  131. 

Pierce,  President,  4. 

Porter,  W.  D.,  139,  140,  148. 

Powell,  Fort,  178,  195-97. 

Powers,  James,  277,  282. 

Preble,  28,  33. 

Preble,  Captain,  144,  146. 

Princess  Royal,  157. 

Ray,  Kate,  27,  28. 
Read,  Abner,  159. 
Release,  57  ff. 


302  INDEX 


Reynolds,  William,  215. 
Richmond,  187,  191. 
Rooney,  Captain,  89,  90. 

St.  Philip,  Fort,  108  /. 
Saginaw,  216. 

Sargent,  Charles,  261,  282,  288. 
Sciota,  i6o/. 
Siam,  232-44. 

Sicard,      Lieutenant-Comman 
der,  216. 

Slave  trade,  72  /. 
Soule,  Pierre,  122,  126,  128. 
Stewart,  Lieutenant,  76  /. 
Strain,  Isaac  C.,  49,  50. 
Strong,  Captain,  166,  167,  202. 
Sultana,  88. 

Talbot,  Lieutenant,  216. 
Taylor,  General,  152,  153. 
Tecumseh,  179-84,  194. 


Tennessee,  172  ff. 
Thornton,  Captain,  144. 
Trowbridge,  Thomas,  2. 

United  States  Naval  Academy, 
admission,  14;  first  years, 
17  ff.',  daily  routine,  24. 

Upshur,  Admiral,  254. 

Varuna,  117-19. 

Walker,  M.J.,  259 /. 
Walker,  William,  51-54. 
Weitzel,  General,  150,  156,  157. 
Weld,  Anna  Minot.    See  Mrs. 

George  Hamilton  Perkins. 
Williams,     Lieutenant-Colonel, 

197. 
Winnebago,    176-85,    190,   201, 

2IO. 

Winona,  144,  156. 


CAMBRIDGE  .  MASSACHUSETTS 
U    .    S    .   A 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 

on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 
Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 


i* 


21A-50m-4  '60 
o62slO)476B 


Berkeley 


ID    J 


M194424 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


